D3 student honored for research at ADA
Louis Formica participated in the ADA/DENTSPLY Student Clinician Research Program at the recent American Dental Association Annual Session in New Orleans, La. and took home the 3rd place award for clinical science/public health research.
Through his study, Nutritional Counseling Practices in Pediatric Dentistry: A National Survey, Formica approached pediatric dentists to determine their current nutritional counseling measures as they relate to promoting systemic wellness, not just preventing caries. More than 1,400 dentists participated. “We sought to understand what pediatric dentists are willing to do in their practices to counsel on nutrition toward obesity prevention while clarifying barriers to providing this information in their practices,” said Formica, who believes that inter-professional education and collaboration is needed to positively impact pediatric dental patients. He hopes that the results will be used to improve practitioners’ abilities to provide nutritional counseling beyond the scope of preventing dental decay.
“I was honored to represent VCU and humbled to bring home an award with so many outstanding projects representing every dental school in country,” shared Formica. “And I would like to thank my collaborators at the VCU School of Dentistry, Dr. Tegwyn Brickhouse and Dr. Al Best.”
“This recognition is a great stride forward in our Quest for Distinction at the student level. It’s a real win for our school.”
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