Expanding the Research Capacity of Dental Schools: Are We There Yet?

[...]we may not have either the breadth of scientific expertise or the sufficient workforce to generate the discovery science that will enable future dental practitioners to deploy the newest diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that will define the era of precision medicine and revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of a life-threatening oral disease (Kornman and Duff 2012; Garcia et al. 2013). In this context, dental schools should consider developing affinity groups or regional consortia that capitalize on the collective strengths of the participating institutions and focus on unmet needs in research and the patient care environment. Collaboration and sharing of academic resources among dental schools and the other health professions offer a way to advance and invest in new scientific and patient care initiatives. Since many of the newer dental schools may lack the resources to develop a competitive research environment on their own, it may be possible to develop partnerships with more established research intensive institutions where collaborative research and faculty training and mentoring programs could be developed.