About Industry at Our College
More than forty years ago, the National Institutes of Dental Research funded the Iowa Cleft Palate Program Project, with a goal to improve treatment and prognosis of individuals with cleft palate. This program later evolved into the NIDR Center for Craniofacial Genetics. Later, an NIDCR-funded Specialized Caries Research Center enabled the Cariology Research Program at the Dows Institute for Dental Research to develop a variety of projects concerned with diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of caries. In 1986, based on these clinical activities, the College of Dentistry established the Center for Clinical Studies in the Dows Institute for Dental Research. A strong link is provided between the Center’s laboratory research and the College of Dentistry’s formal clinic setting, which allows access to patient populations for evaluating diagnostic and treatment modalities, materials, and therapeutic agents. The Center’s activities are supported by the National Institutes of Health; private foundations; and corporate grants and contracts. Current projects focus on dental implant surface technologies, clinical research into innovative bone grafting and implant procedures, outcomes research on implants to rehabilitate individuals affected by various birth defects such as ectodermal dysplasia, cleft palate and other anomalies. Other areas of active research involve dental restorative materials, ceramics, periodontal interventions, and investigations of anticariogenic agents with intraoral models.