Practice-based Research Networks: The NIDCR Perspective

Practice-based research holds great potential for answering the questions that practitioners face daily in the routine care of their patients. This symposium will focus on the important aspects of the conduct of oral health research in a general dental practice. The Practitioners Engaged in Applied Research and Learning (PEARL), the Practice-based Research Collaborative in Evidence-based Dentistry (PRECEDENT), and the Dental Practice-Based Research Network (DPBRN) are NIDCR-funded dental Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRN) that conduct clinically-relevant clinical research studies in practitioners' offices. The network directors and one dental practitioner-investigator from each Network will provide an overview of an active dental PBRN, using a network study to illustrate the tremendous potential and significant challenges involved in conducting networked research in general dental practices.