West Midlands Collaboration recruits more than 80 surgeries
An enthusiastic team has got its teeth into dental research by recruiting more than 80 practices across the West Midlands in 2 years.
The Dental Practice Research Collaboration’s aim is to improve the dental health of children and adults by building new knowledge, bridging gaps in research, applying learning to practice, supporting the development of dental teams and sharing findings.
The Collaboration is a partnership between dental practices and the National Institute of Health and Care Research’s West Midlands Regional Research Delivery Network (NIHR WM RRDN).
It is taking research into primary care settings by increasing visibility and uptake of research for dental practices, their staff, and the public.
Since 2023, the Collaboration has signed up 87 practices, which have taken part in 7 NIHR Portfolio studies. To date, 27 practices have delivered a Portfolio study, and more than 808 participants have been recruited.
Some 31 practices are in Birmingham, while 5 are in Wolverhampton, 4 in Walsall, 3 in Sutton Coldfield, 2 in Oldbury and 1 each in Tipton, Stourbridge, West Bromwich, Halesowen, Wednesbury, Kingswinford and Dudley. The rest are in Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Coventry, Solihull, Leamington and Herefordshire.
The Collaboration can:
Inform practices of opportunities to take part in high-quality research
Support practices with study set-up and delivery of research
Offer advice and support with research governance
Provide support from trained research staff
Provide access to free research training
WM RRDN facilitator, Anesha Chauhan, Clinical Research Practitioner, dedicates two days a week to support practices become research aware, engaged and active.
Anesha said: “Inviting practices to take part in innovative studies helps them contribute to shaping the dental health of the nation. It also gives them chance to take advantage of new treatments or screening programmes not yet available to the general population.”
One of the studies promoted by the Collaboration is PlP (Pulpotomy or root canal treatment for the management of Irreversible Pulpitis in mature teeth).
PlP’s purpose is to see whether pulpotomy or root canal treatment (removal of the entire pulp) is more effective for adults with irreversible pulpitis. Pulpotomy is where the pulp (nerve and blood vessels) is removed from the tooth, and a drug or treatment is applied to the remaining tissue.
Nationally, 48 practices – including 10 in the West Midlands – were each targeted to recruit 11 participants to PIP. The first to sign up to the Collaboration, Tipton’s Princes End Dental Practice, was PIP’s highest recruiter, enrolling 24 people.
Dr Ateef Azam, Principal Dentist at Princes End, urged other practices to Be Part of Research, saying: “Go for it – don’t hesitate. You will absolutely love the experience. I did something positive to help with future treatments; I felt valued and like we were one big family with a common goal.”
The Collaboration was spearheaded by the West Midlands, and 6 other regions are now developing dental practice collaboration models.
More information is available here or you can email wm.rrdn@nihr.ac.uk with the header WCS/Dental.
