Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine (CIBM) Seminar:
As the healthcare in United States enter the era of accountability and move towards achieving the “Triple Aim”, dental and craniofacial care should not be dismissed. The cost of treating dental care is a growing concern. Based on a projection from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the total national expenditures for dental care will almost triple between 2000 and 2020 (from $62.0 billion in 2000 to $167.9 billion in 2020, a 271% increase.

As electronic health records become more widespread as a result of federal mandate and along with the many recent oral and systemic health research, the feasibility of integrating medical and dental care, research and education are being explored by many healthcare organizations.

The field of dental informatics can play a major role in facilitating the transformation of dentistry into the new era. In this talk Dr. Acharya will provide a brief introduction to the field of dental informatics and where it fits within the larger realm of the informatics world. He will also go over the highlights of the ‘Dental Informatics Research and Training Program’ established at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation. In closing, Dr. Acharya will provide an overview of two research studies that was conducted at his lab to gain an understanding on the different flavors of research conducted in this emerging field.

Recently, as part of the CIBM program, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, partnering with Marshfield Clinic, received funding from the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) (2T15LM007359-11) to provide three slots for dental informatics postdoctoral training as part of its biomedical informatics training program. The CIBM program at UW-Madison is one of the three sites in the nation to receive this funding to provide dental informatics training. Oregon Health and Sciences University and University of Pittsburgh were the other two sites which received funding.