Updates
Our IdeaScale idea submission portal is now closed. However, all submitted ideas, comments and votes will remain accessible and we will continue to post updates on the progress of NIDCR 2030 initiatives on this website. Additionally, you may continue to direct any questions or comments to nidcr2030@nidcr.nih.gov. If you haven't already, we also suggest that you sign up for NIDCR News
We appreciate all the ideas and comments you have submitted and will continue to use them to plan future workshops and research initiatives, and to guide our next strategic plan.
NIDCR Seeks Input on the 2020-2025 Draft Strategic Plan
NIDCR is asking for your input on priority areas and draft goals for the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. Please use this link to provide your input: https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/about-us/strategic-plan/2020-2025-nidcr-strategic-plan. The closing date for comments is August 15, 2019.

NIDCR will host a Craniofacial Research Symposium
Please join NIDCR for a Craniofacial Research Symposium: "Looking Back and Facing the Future: From NIDR to NIDCR". The symposium will be held on May 6, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10) at NIH and will be videocast live and archived. For additional information visit the symposium webpage. ADA continuing dental education credits will be offered for the symposium.

Oral and Dental Health in People Living with HIV and Co-Occurring Non-Communicable Diseases
Based on public feedback NIDCR received in the oral health + overall health goal area, we've developed a proposed research initiative on Oral and Dental Health in People Living with HIV and Co-Occurring Non-Communicable Diseases. This is the fourth installment in a series of proposed research initiatives resulting from NIDCR 2030. Click here to view submitted comments relating to this proposed research initiative.

Immune System Balance and Flexibility in Maintaining Good Oral Health
Based on public feedback NIDCR received in the autotherapies goal area, we've developed a proposed research initiative on Immune System Balance and Flexibility in Maintaining Good Oral Health. This is the fifth installment in a series of proposed research initiatives resulting from NIDCR 2030. Click here to view submitted comments relating to this proposed research initiative.

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Promote Adolescents' Oral Health and Reduce Disparities
Based on public feedback NIDCR received in the precision health goal area, we've developed a proposed research initiative on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Promote Adolescents' Oral Health and Reduce Disparities. This is the sixth installment in a series of proposed research initiatives resulting from NIDCR 2030. Click here to view submitted comments relating to this proposed research initiative.

Autotherapies: Enhancing Endogenous Healing and Regeneration
As a follow-up to the Autotherapies: Enhancing Our Innate Healing Capacity symposium and workshop that NIDCR hosted in January 2018, NIDCR prepared a summary and an opinion piece focused on autotherapies for regenerative medicine. The opinion article, entitled "Autotherapies: Enhancing Endogenous Healing and Regeneration," has been published in Trends in Molecular Medicine. Click the link above to review the full article.

NIDCR Research Investments & Advances
You asked. We listened. Research Investments & Advances fact sheets are now available on the NIDCR Website. Discover how NIDCR-funded research is enhancing knowledge and improving public health. Topic areas include salivary diagnostics, HPV & oropharyngeal cancer, oral health & opioids, and regenerative medicine. Additional topics will be added in the near future.

NIDCR Director's Postdoctoral Fellowship to Enhance Diversity in Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research
Postdoctoral students selected for this fully-funded fellowship will spend up to five years working side-by-side with NIDCR's leading scientists. Fellows will perform research with a mentor in NIDCR's Division of Intramural Research (DIR), map a research career path, and develop a grant proposal. NIDCR encourages students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents at the time of award. For more information, Click here.

Accelerating the Advancement
of Digital Dentistry
Based on public feedback NIDCR received in the oral biodevices goal area, we've developed a proposed research initiative on Accelerating the Advancement of Digital Dentistry. This is the second installment in a series of proposed research initiatives resulting from NIDCR 2030. Click here to view submitted comments relating to this proposed research initiative.

Mentoring Network for Underrepresented Postdoctoral and Early-Career Faculty Investigators
In alignment with public feedback NIDCR received in the workforce diversity goal area, we've developed a proposal for a Mentoring Network for Underrepresented Postdoctoral and Early-Career Faculty Investigators. This is the third installment in a series of proposed research initiatives aligned with NIDCR 2030. Click here to view submitted comments relating to this proposed research initiative. To accomplish the stated overarching goal, funding is now available to support creative educational activities with a primary focus on Mentoring Activities and Courses for Skills Development. Click here to view the request for applications. Applications are due May 30, 2019.

Our Vision
In 2030, we imagine a world where dental, oral, and craniofacial health and disease are understood in the context of the whole body, and research transforms how we promote health, treat disease, and overcome health disparities, so all people have the opportunity to lead healthy lives.
To achieve what we've imagined, we need you. Please join us in a discussion about what it will take to reach the five goals we outline below. We will use your ideas and comments to plan future workshops and research initiatives.
Goals
Browse our 2030 goals.
Oral health will be fully integrated into the study of overall health through a deeper and more complex understanding of the underlying biological, behavioral, and social factors that cause disease or support health in the dental, oral, and craniofacial region and throughout the body.
End Date: June 2, 2017Precision prevention, treatment, and public health interventions will be available to all people based on their unique variations in genetic, biological, behavioral, and social determinants of health. Individual and population-based dental, oral, and craniofacial prevention and treatment strategies will be scientifically-based and validated.
End Date: June 2, 2017Prevention and treatment tactics aimed at the dental, oral, and craniofacial region will take advantage of the body's innate ability to repair and regenerate damaged or diseased tissues. In addition, these autotherapies will be used to restore the biological balance of body systems and maintain health.
End Date: June 2, 2017The mouth will be used as a portal for real-time monitoring and assessment of oral health and overall health. Devices located in the dental, oral, and craniofacial region will also be able to diagnose disease and deliver local and systemic treatments.
End Date: June 2, 2017The dental, oral, and craniofacial research workforce will cross disciplines, draw from multiple professions, and reflect the diversity of the nation with regard to race, gender, ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic status.
End Date: June 2, 2017Trending Ideas
Embryonic "compensation" and aut...
Ken YamadaEmbryonic tissues and organs can often effectively compensate for defects during development, but how they do so is poorly understood. Applying...
Net Votes: 2 Number of Comments: 0Lingual Strengthening Treatment ...
Nicole PuliaDevice-facilitated lingual strengthening has been shown to result in improved swallowing function and increased saliva production in patients w...
Net Votes: 6 Number of Comments: 0Polymicrobial synergy
Seun AjiboyeOral diseases (as well as most other inflammatory diseases of the mucosae) are known to be triggered by the immunopathology resulting from the o...
Net Votes: 13 Number of Comments: 1The Relationship between Swallow...
Nicole PuliaSwallowing, oral health, and saliva production are crucial factors for maintaining overall health and an optimal quality of life. While evidence...
Net Votes: 9 Number of Comments: 1About Us
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) is the nation's leading supporter of dental, oral, and craniofacial research. NIDCR is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information about NIDCR, visit www.nidcr.nih.gov.