Penn Dental Medicine Dean Mark S. Wolff has been recognized for his research by the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and American Association for Dental Research (AADR) as a recipient of the 2020 IADR/AADR William J. Gies Award for clinical research. The Gies Awards are presented annually in three categories—biological research, biomaterials and bioengineering research, and clinical research—for the best papers published in the IADR/AADR’s Journal of Dental Research. The Gies Awards are named for William J. Gies, the journal’s founder.

Dean Wolff, who is also a professor in the department of preventive and restorative sciences, received the clinical research award along with his co-authors (O. Urquhart, M.P. Tampi, L. Pilcher, R.L. Slayton, M.W.B. Araujo, M. Fontana, S. Guzmán-Armstrong, M.M. Nascimento, B.B. Nový, N. Tinanoff, R.J. Weyant, D.A. Young, D.T. Zero, R. Brignardello-Petersen, L. Banfield, A. Parikh, G. Joshi) for the paper titled “Nonrestorative Treatments for Caries: Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis,” Journal of Dental Research 98(1): 14-26, 2019.

This systematic review and network meta-analysis summarizes the available evidence on nonrestorative caries treatments (not using the drill) for arresting or reversing noncavitated (early tooth decay) and cavitated carious lesions (cavities) on primary and permanent teeth; it also provides a review of the evidence for and adverse events seen with varied treatment modalities. It provides clinicians with clinic-ready guidance on how to best treat their patients on a daily basis.

“While preventing the onset of caries is the ultimate goal of a caries management plan, our review provides important guidelines for nonrestorative management of carious lesions when disease is present,” said Dean Wolff.