23
Volume1 Issue5
|
I
ssues and
P
eople
Sounding the Alarm:
THEFUTUREOFORALHEALTH
RESEARCHINCANADA
DM:
The twomain issues facingoral health
research inCanadaare1) the lackof growth
inhealthcare researchbudgets—not just for
oral health research, but for health research
ingeneral, and2) theneed for succession
planning. Therearen’t enoughyoung
scientists anddental clinician-scientists to
replace senior researchers in thedental
facultieswhowill be retiring. There isnoone
topass the torch to.
JD:
If those two issues canbeaddressed,
wecanmake tremendous advances.We
need toprovideaviableavenue for dental
studentswithan interest inpursuinga
career inacademiaand research. Providing
support for themearly in their careers is very
important. I’mconfident thatmobilizing the
publicand theprofession tobring these
Increasingawareness about oral health research inCanada is an important cause forDrs. JeffDixonandDebora
Matthews.At theCanadian Institutes ofHealthResearch (CIHR), theyarebothmembers of the InstituteAdvisory
Boardat the Institute ofMusculoskeletalHealthandArthritis (IMHA),which supports oral health researchas part of its
mandate.CDA spokewithDrs.DixonandMatthews about the current status of oral health research inCanada.
issues to light canmakeadifference.We
needcontinued lobbying from individual
dentists and theprofession to increase
federal funding for health research—it can
makeabigdifference to theprofessionand
thecountry. Researchcan lead tonewways
for dentists toworkmoreeffectivelyand
havebetter control over oral
disease.
DM:
I think that the
natureof research ismoving
towardsmorecollaborative,
transdisciplinaryapproaches,
andoral health researchers
are reallygettingonboard
and thinkingoutside thebox.
That’soneof the reasonswhy theNetwork
for CanadianOral HealthResearch (NCOHR)
was created—with the small numbersof oral
health researchers in this country,weneed to
work collaboratively, buildcapacity, andgive
trainees theencouragement and skills that
theyneed.
JD:
Theseare important issues for the
profession:Whowill be teachingour dental
studentsof tomorrow?Willwebeadvancing
theprofessionhere inCanada? Future
improvements inhealthcarearegoing to
come fromgreat research.
a
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
Theviewsexpressedarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectthe
opinionsorofficialpoliciesoftheCanadianDentalAssociation.
JeffDixon
DeboraMatthews
4
%
23
87
0
20
40
60
80
100
23
87
2000-01
2011-12
4:
Percentageof CIHR-IMHA
spending inoral health, as a
proportionof CIHR spending
among IMHA’s focus areas—
representing the smallest
pieceof the fundingpie.
23:
Number of CIHR-fundedoral health
researcherswhowereco-principal investigators
or co-applicants in2000-01.
87:
Number of CIHR-fundedoral health
researcherswhowereco-principal investigators
or co-applicants in2011-12.
Increase incollaborativeoral health
research
Low investment in
oral health research
FundingComparisonsatCIHR-IMHA:OralHealthataGlance
Tohear the
full interviewwith
Drs.Matthews
andDixon, visit
