| | Dean's Message
Homecoming means something a little bit different for me this year, since this is my first homecoming at Iowa since returning from UIC. Although much has changed, the character of the college and the kindness and closeness of the faculty, staff, residents, and students has not. That is what makes this place feel like home to so many, and being away for eight years gave me a deep appreciation for it. This weekend, the college has a number of opportunities to connect and reconnect. We had our pediatric dentistry alumni reunion last night, we have an excellent pediatric dentistry lineup for our CE course today along with the university homecoming parade this evening, and our pregame CE course and tailgate on gameday. Cheers! ~Clark Stanford
| | | Updates for October 28, 2022–November 3, 2022 | | | | University of Iowa dental faculty seeking better teeth for teaching purposes found a perfect partner in The University of Iowa Protostudios. The on-campus rapid-prototyping organization, known for transforming inventors’ ideas, used their digital technology and 3D-printing to produce consistent, durable simulated teeth mimicking various conditions of healthy and unhealthy teeth. This collaboration between Protostudios, Erica Teixeira, associate professor and chair of operative dentistry, and Natalia Restrepo-Kennedy, clinical associate professor of operative dentistry, illustrates the commitment that Iowa has both as a university and as a dental college of continuing to be a leader in digital dentistry. | | | The submission deadline for the College of Dentistry Creative Writing Contest will be here soon on November 6, 2022. Proctor and Gamble graciously provided two electric toothbrushes as prizes for the writing contest. More details are available on the full flyer. Submissions may be made at any time before the submission deadline of November 6, 2022. Questions, comments, or submissions can be sent via email to Michael Tilley or Kate Newcomb. | | | | ADA Executive Directors visits the college On Wednesday (Oct. 26), Ray Cohlmia, the executive director of the American Dental Association (ADA), visited the University of Iowa. He met with the College of Dentistry leadership team, faculty, staff, and students over the course of the day. It was a great opportunity to hear about his vision for the ADA and for us to share about our accomplishments. | | | The Iowa Mission of Mercy will be in Des Moines this year on November 4-5. Typically, the College of Dentistry provides a huge amount of support to the event on the Saturday, which will be Nov. 5. This event is a major public health event for our state, and it is a great opportunity for our students to grow and learn as clinicians while connecting with dentists from all over the State of Iowa. Faculty participation is vital so that students are properly supervised, and it is also important to have dental assistants, hygienists, sterilization staff, dental lab techs, and other support staff. Anyone interested in volunteering will need to register on the Iowa Dental Association’s IMOM site. | | | | Thank you to our dental hygientists! Hygienists are the front lines for improving preventive oral health care. They often spend the most time with patients, are essential for making the patient experience go well, provide some of the most important patient oral health education, and are vital to accomplishing our mission to improve the oral health of Iowans. Thank you all for your support, your kindness, and your dedication. It makes all the difference. | | | The College of Dentistry welcomes Stephanie Gramlich Stephanie Gramlich is a new dental hygienist in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Stephanie now lives in Ely, IA. Prior to coming to the college, she worked as an I-Smile Coordinator for several years. Stephanie has 3 adult children, two sons and a daughter. She has already hit the ground running, and she played a lead role providing an oral health presentation for UI Reach students on October 13.
"I'm excited to use my experience in dental public health here at the College of Dentistry," she said. | | | | Students at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry are collegial and embody the warmth of the most inviting college town in the country yet with all the opportunities of a Big Ten dental education. | | | Susan Jayne's review: I have traveled 426 miles round trip for all of my ortho work over a two year+ period of time. That's a pretty strong commitment. The patient care and each appointment was handled perfectly. Each member of the team ensured that I felt welcomed, comfortable, informed and taken care of. Adult orthodontia is not an easy undertaking, and I really had no idea what I was getting into. The entire team made the experience very positive. I truly looked forward to each visit. The quality of the work done, in my opinion, was top notch. My ortho visits were coordinated with two of the dentists, Dr. Southard for all ortho work, and Dr. Vargas for all other work. They partnered together for a wholistic solution. Since I traveled such a great distance, they ensured that my appointments were timed so I saw both dentists at the same time. They consulted between my visits to ensure that progress was in line with what they expected. I highly recommend their services.
Update - forgot to include that their pricing is very reasonable. I had coverage from two different insurance companies over the course of my treatment, and their office was very easy to work with. Explained everything, submitted all claim forms and ensured that I got the best coverage possible. | | | | Zhang J, Sun L, Withanage MHH, Ganesan SM, Williamson MA, Marchesan JT, Jiao Y, Teles FR, Yu N, Liu Y, Wu D, Moss KL, Mangalam AK, Zeng E, Lei YL, Zhang S. TRAF3IP2-IL-17 Axis Strengthens the Gingival Defense against Pathogens. J Dent Res. 2022 Oct 24:220345221123256. doi: 10.1177/00220345221123256. PMID: 36281065.
Building on several recent studies that showed a correlation between excessive IL-17 signaling and periodontitis, the research team found that the homeostatic level of a particular signaling pathway for IL-17-TRAF3IP2, in fact, protects against pathogen-induced periodontitis. The research suggests that finding a way to fine-tune this response will be helpful for reducing inflammation associated with periodontitis and improving an organism's defenses against periodontal pathogens. By comparing subjects with a variant form of TRAF3IP2 to typical subjects without such a variant, the researchers found that the those with theTRAF3IP2 variant form suffered significantly greater bone loss than did typical specimens and had less of an immune response to pathogens. Further in-depth mechanistic investigations using in vivo models indicate that an intact IL-17-TRAF3IP2 pathway elicited a tonic neutrophil response that safeguarded the gingival barrier against the invasion by a well-known periodontal pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis. This research suggests that TRAF3IP2 plays a crucial role in an organism's defense against key periodontal pathogens. | | | What's a homecoming without a huge structure holding a enormous amount of corn! Although we aren't completely sure, we think the tradition of the Corn Monument started in 1919. That's when some engineering students made the a structure and put a lot of corn on it. Over time, this annual tradition became a major homecoming tradition at Iowa. Go see this year's Corn Monument on the Pentecrest! | | Events
October 28, CE Course: Pediatric Dentistry Legends in the Fall
October 29, Pregame Professional Program (Northwestern/University Homecoming)
October 29, Alumni Tailgate, Iowa v. Northwestern (University Homecoming)
November 2, College-Wide Thanksgiving Holiday Buffet, W220, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
November 4-5, Iowa Mission of Mercy, Des Moines
November 6, Last Day for Submissions for the College of Dentistry Creative Writing Contest, submit via email to Michael Tilley or Kate Newcomb.
November 8, Shillpa Naavaal, “Oral Health and Pregnancy: Role of Programs, Policies, and Practices in Supporting Women's Oral Health and Overall Health," hosted by Julie Reynolds, via Zoom only, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
November 9, Entrepreneu and Veterran: Kevin Bubolz from Golden Retriever Life, from the Veteran Innovation Series, The Main Lounge at Iowa Memorial Union, 5:00 p.m..–6:30 p.m.
November 11, Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students
November 11, CE Course: A Full Day Endodontic Experience
November 12, Pregame Professional Program (Wisconsin)
November 15, Pedro Sanchez, "Solving Rare Genetic Diseases, One Mutation at a Time: instructive examples from the clinic,” hosted by Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
November 16, Virtual Fall 2022 Interview Day for Prospective DDS Students
November 29, Paule Joseph, “Investigating the Chemical Senses (Taste, Smell, and Chemesthesis): Clinical Applications," hosted by Sukirth Ganesan, Galagan B, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Notes and Resources
M-R: 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; F: 7:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
The banner Hawkeye Smile image shows Herky with Austen Hawthorne, the revenue cycle manager in the dental business office. | | | |
