Sheridan P G
Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Communications, National Institute of Dental Research, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Public Health Rep. 1988 Sep-Oct;103(5):493-9.
The National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) was created by President Harry S Truman on June 24, 1948, as the third of the National Institutes of Health. NIDR's legislation contained the mandate to conduct research and research training to improve oral health. An impetus for federally funded dental research was the finding in World War II that the major cause of rejection for military service was missing teeth. Because of the population's widespread tooth decay problems, early NIDR research focused on eliminating dental caries. NIDR scientists confirmed the safety and effectiveness of the use of fluoride in tooth decay prevention, leading to one of the nation's most successful public health efforts, community water fluoridation. During the past 40 years, NIDR scientists have provided research advances and fostered technologies which changed the philosophy and practice of dentistry and brought dental sciences into the mainstream of biomedical research. Dental researchers contribute to studies of such diseases and problems as AIDS, cancer, arthritis, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, herpes, craniofacial anomalies, pain, and bone and joint disorders. NIDR's 40th anniversary in 1988 recognizes its continuing commitment to oral disease prevention and health research, and to achieving the goal of people maintaining their natural dentition for a lifetime.
国立牙科研究所（NIDR）于1948年6月24日由哈里·S·杜鲁门总统创建，是国立卫生研究院中的第三个研究所。NIDR的立法授权开展研究和研究培训以改善口腔健康。联邦政府资助牙科研究的一个推动因素是在第二次世界大战中发现，被拒绝服兵役的主要原因是牙齿缺失。由于民众普遍存在龋齿问题，NIDR早期的研究集中在消除龋齿上。NIDR的科学家证实了使用氟化物预防龋齿的安全性和有效性，这促成了美国最成功的公共卫生举措之一——社区水氟化。在过去40年里，NIDR的科学家取得了研究进展并推动了技术发展，这些改变了牙科的理念和实践，并使牙科科学融入生物医学研究的主流。牙科研究人员为艾滋病、癌症、关节炎、囊性纤维化、糖尿病、疱疹、颅面畸形、疼痛以及骨骼和关节疾病等疾病和问题的研究做出了贡献。1988年NIDR成立40周年，这彰显了其对口腔疾病预防和健康研究的持续承诺，以及实现人们终身保留天然牙列这一目标的决心。
