The Impact of Foundation Funded Research

The impact of the research conducted by Foundation beneficiaries via competitive grants can be profound. Many times, the research funded by the Foundation serves as the basis for extramural funding from larger sources, elevating the specialty. It is a privilege to highlight some of the brightest in the field and disseminate their findings to the larger scientific community.

In February 2019, “Investigating Potential Correlations between Endodontic Pathology and Cardiovascular Diseases Using Epidemiological and Genetic Approaches”, was published in the Journal of Endodontics. Thanks to a $16,000 grant from the Foundation for Endodontics Dr. Maria Messing and her mentor, Dr, Ariadne Letra, were able to conduct this study. It was the first study to combine epidemiological and genetic approaches to look at the potential shared biological mechanisms that may contribute to endodontic disease-systemic disease relationships.

The funding provided by the Foundation served as the basis for two NIH grants, totaling over $500,000, awarded to Dr. Ariadne Letra. In the first project, Dr. Letra and team conducted the first genome-wide association study of apical periodontitis and identified novel risk genes associated with the condition. Further, her team identified additional systemic conditions for which apical periodontitis genes appear to be involved in the etiology. Results from the project were published in the Journal of Endodontics in October of 2023, “Genome-wide Association Study Identifies Novel Risk Loci for Apical Periodontitis.”

Each of these publications was selected for awards by the Journal of Endodontics in the category of Clinical Research, in their respective years.

In another recently awarded grant, Dr. Letra is utilizing the resources of the NIH All of Us Research Program to unravel the interconnectedness between oral health and systemic health. In brief, her team is looking at electronic health data, genomic data, and survey data from more than 400,000 individuals to identify biological and environmental factors most likely to contribute to dental and systemic disease relationships.

When asked about the direct correlation between oral health and cardiovascular diseases, Dr. Letra stated “Despite evidence pointing towards a potential bidirectional relationship between endodontic disease and cardiovascular disease, studies thus far show an association between the conditions. This however cannot be interpreted as causation. What is well accepted though is that endodontic disease may perpetuate a low-grade chronic inflammatory scenario with potential effects systemically, therefore both dentists in general, endodontists, and cardiologists should educate their patients about the detrimental effects of poor oral health on systemic health.”