Leaders in Evidence-Based Dentistry Honored

CHICAGO, October 14, 2020 — The American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) today announced the winners of the annual Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD) Faculty and Practice Awards. The awards are supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Colgate and are presented to educators and clinicians who have made significant contributions to implement and advance EBD. The winners will be recognized at a virtual booth hosted by the ADA Science and Research Institute at the 2020 ADA FDC Virtual Connect Conference, a joint meeting of the ADA and Florida Dental Association. 

Rajesh V. Lalla, B.D.S., Ph.D., will receive the 2020 EBD Accomplished Faculty Award. Dr. Lalla is a professor and associate dean for research at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. He developed as well as teaches the school’s course on evidence-based decision-making, which emphasizes experiential learning and student participation with minimal lecturing. Dr. Lalla has published over 100 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, including 23 systematic reviews and evidence-based guidelines such as the 2020 clinical practice guideline for the management of mucositis secondary to cancer therapy published in the journal Cancer.

Satheesh Elangovan, B.D.S., D.Sc., D.M.Sc., will receive the 2020 EBD Mid-Career Faculty Award. Dr. Elangovan is a professor at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, where he teaches EBD in his lectures, seminars, and case presentations of pre-doctoral students and periodontics residents. To address deficits in EBD education, Dr. Elangovan was involved in the creation of online resource centers with interactive exercises that teach how to critically appraise scientific literature. He serves as co-assistant director of his college’s dental student research program, where he has mentored numerous students on EBD projects that resulted in conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Elangovan has published more than 75 peer-reviewed manuscripts, including systematic reviews and critical summaries. He currently serves as an associate editor of the PracticeUpdate Clinical Dentistry Channel from Elsevier and the ADA. 

Christopher Smiley, D.D.S., will receive the 2020 EBD Practice Award. Dr. Smiley is a full-time practicing general dentist at Smiley Family Dentistry in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association. In this role, he has overseen the publication of tutorial articles to assist readers in applying the EBD process in clinical practice. This initiative includes presenting a monthly column called “10-Minute EBD” that demonstrates how EBD can improve decision-making across a variety of clinical topics. Dr. Smiley served as a co-author of the ADA’s clinical practice guideline on the nonsurgical treatment of chronic periodontitis as well as the guideline’s associated systematic review.

For more information about the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry, visit EBD.ADA.org. 
Editor’s Note: Reporters are invited to follow the ADA on Twitter @AmerDentalAssn and #ADAFDC for updates from the ADA FDC Virtual Connect Conference.