We congratulate Dr. Gregg Gilbert, D.D.S., M.B.A. and DPBRN Network Chair to get awarded the seven-year grant to build a unified dental practice research network in the US.The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (NDPBRN) will have its headquarter at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and will serve as an administrative hub to the six regional sites.

The seven-year grant of $66.8 million will help to streamline the network structure for greater efficiency and will enable the regional networks to focus solely on research.

Further the NDPBRN plans to expand the number of participating practitioners to 5,000 with an increased range of studies in the various dental subspecialties. These can include endodontists, periodontists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, prosthodontists, oral pathologists, as well as pediatric and public health dentists.

We are excited about the news of establishing a National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. It will be exciting to see what impact the NDPBRN will have in dental practice-based research and can serve as model for other National Dental Practice-Based Research Networks in the world in the future. 

We congratulate Dr. Gregg Gilbert to be awarded the new grant and wish him and NDPBRN all the success. For more information about NDPBRN, click here.

The Dental PBRN Japan (JDPBRN) has begun its first study entitled “Assessment of Caries Diagnosis and Caries Treatment”, Pricipal Investigator (PI) is Dr. Naoki Kakudate, Director of JDPBRN. Data collection is currently underway.

This study is modeled after US DPBRN Study 3 of the same name and is the first international collaborative study between JDPBRN and US DPBRN. We thank DPBRN Director Dr. Gregg Gilbert for giving such a great opportunity. After finalizing the analysis of the study, we will give feedback for our members to improve their practice and are planning to publish international peer-reviewed journal. 

The JDPBRN annual meeting was held at Gakushi-Kaikan (www.gakushikaikan.co.jp)  in Tokyo on 4 December 2011.

A total of 30 dentist practitioner-investigators, clinical researchers, and dental technicians attended. JDPBRN’s director Dr. Naoki Kakudate gave　the keynote speech "Wake to a new dawn of dental clinical research-Dental Practice-Based Research Network-".

As a special guest, live via Skype (www.skype.com), DPBRN director Dr. Gregg　Gilbert gave a memorial presentation entitled “Overview of The Dental PBRN”. Despite the time difference of 15 hours and a distance of over 10,910 km between  Birmingham USA and Tokyo, the connection was very good. Participants were very impressed by his speech.

This Sunday meeting provided a great opportunity for practitioners to discuss“Finding Research Questions from Daily Clinical Practice” and exchange opinions with other JDPBRN members. 

Attendees separated into five small groups during the workshop session “What is the Most Relevant Research Question in Japan” for discussions. These discussions will lead to suggestions for future JDPBRN studies, when the results have been evaluated.

Overall, the first annual JDPBRN meeting in Tokyo was a big success and attendees had a great chance to share information with other practitioners from other regions  in Japan and to hear Dr. Gregg Gilbert’s presentation from Birmingham, Alabama, USA.