UK Dentistry Research Featured on Cover of Journal of Clinical Periodontology

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 27, 2016) — The cover of the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology features the latest research efforts involving University of Kentucky College of Dentistry (UKCD) faculty from the Center for Oral Health Research and Division of Orthodontics.

The Journal of Clinical Periodontology was founded by the British, Dutch, French, German, Scandinavian and Swiss Societies of Periodontology and has one of the highest impact factors among dental publications.

UKCD, along with researchers from University of Puerto Rico Caribbean Primate Research Center, published a study on periodontitis, a gum disease which afflicts nearly 70 million U.S. adults. Half of all American adults over age of 30 have periodontal disease. The research examines the responses in the gums to oral bacteria and how aging and periodontitis alter these responses.

Using an animal model, which mimics oral disease similar to humans, the findings suggested that aging promotes the expression of genes associated with inflammation and factors that can resorb bone, which were further enhanced in periodontitis. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the higher risk of gum disease in older individuals could provide novel therapeutic targets to enhance oral health in the rapidly growing aging population. This study was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, through the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence award.

The publication aims to convey scientific progress in periodontology to those concerned with application of this knowledge for the benefit of the dental health of the community.

UK Dentistry authors of the study included:  Drs. Sarandeep Huja, Jeffrey Ebersole, Octavio Gonzalez, Sudha Gudhimella, Sreenatha Kirakodu, M. John Novak, and Subramanya Pandruvada. An abstract of the article, entitled Bone Biology-related Gingival Transcriptome in Aging and Periodontitis in Non-human Primates, can be accessed and read online here.

Media Contact: Olivia McCoy, olivia.mccoy@uky.edu