[ODCS Membership Roster] [ODCS Meeting Rosters]

The Oral, Dental and Craniofacial Sciences [ODCS] study section reviews applications involving basic, applied and clinical aspects of the oral and salivary tissues including bioengineering of dental structures, as well as dental and enamel developmental biology, including patterning and mechanisms of biomineralization. Specific areas covered by ODCS:

• Oral bacterial pathogenesis, including oral microbiological infections; role of inflammation and the immune system in oral diseases processes and prevention, etiology and agents involved in caries, periodontal diseases; other oral and hard tissue infections; biofilms of oral tissues; systemic consequences of oral microbial infections.
• Function and physiology of salivary gland and the oral mucosal environment: salivary secretions and crevicular fluids; salivary proteins, saliva chemistry and diagnostics; salivary gland pathology, including Sjogren’s syndrome; radiation- and systemic disease-induced xerostomia.
• Biomimetics and bioengineering of dental tissues: biomimetic approaches for repair and replacement of dental tissues and associated structures including the salivary gland; dental restorative materials; biomechanics at micro- and macro levels; bioengineering, including cell- and gene-based therapy, drug delivery, reconstruction and repair of oral tissues; reconstruction and regeneration of the salivary gland; salivary gland as a vehicle for oral and systemic gene therapy; biosensors; structural and diagnostic imaging.
• Dentinogenesis-amelogenesis involving biochemistry, molecular/cell biology and pathology of dental structures; dentin-enamel junction/ pathology/ epithelial-mesenchymal interactions; tooth tissue engineering (dental, pulp stem cells, etc.); drug delivery, organ culture; genesis of osteoclast/ osteoblast/ cementoblasts /cementoclast/odontoblasts/ameloblast; pulp biology (vital pulp therapy, pulp regenerative responses, cytokines and signal transduction); periodontium: periodontal ligament (PDL) extracellular matrix/ cell-cell interactions; alveolar bone resorption; tooth root and crown biology; Hertwig’s epithelial root sheet, enamel knot (early tooth development).
• Development and patterning of oral and dental structures: genetics and gene discovery; normal development and patterning of the dentition (including growth, maturation and size); formation of periodontal tissues and attachment complex; developmental anomalies of oral and dental/enamel structures and animal models.

Study sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Skeletal Biology Development and Disease [SBDD]
Arthritis Connective Tissue and Skin [ACTS]
Skeletal Muscle Biology and Exercise Physiology [SMEP]
Bacterial Pathogenesis [BACP]
Hypersensitivity, Autoimmune, and Immune-mediated Diseases [HAI]