Professor Ainamo received her dental and PhD degrees from the University of Helsinki, and has held numerous academic titles around the globe. She has spent several decades investigating the oral health care needs and patterns of older adults in Scandinavia, and these findings have helped shape treatment guidelines for the oral health profession. Studies on healthy and older medically compromised dental and edentate older adults yielded greater understanding of the inter-relationships among teeth, the periodontium, removable prostheses, saliva, dental plaque, and temporomandibular disorders. Further, prospective studies have yielded considerable progress on our understanding of the extent of the vulnerability of the frail and institutionalized elderly to developing oral disorders resulting in oral dysfunction and impaired quality of life. Her studies utilized a wide array of scientific data, including clinical parameters, quantitative and qualitative salivary collections, radiological scans, and skeletal measurements. Dr. Ainamo was able to create and cultivate multidisciplinary teams of investigators, which helped bridge the basic and clinical sciences, as well as integrate dental and medical specialists in enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of stomatological disorders in the older adult.

The award, funded by Sunstar Butler, was established to stimulate, encourage, and recognize outstanding research accomplishments in the field of geriatric oral research, especially research in the basic and clinical epidemiological sciences associated with geriatric oral research. It is one of 15 Distinguished Scientist Awards conferred annually, representing the highest honor the IADR can bestow.

The Award consists of a cash prize and plaque and will be presented to Dr. A
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Contact: Linda Hemphill
lhemphill@iadr.org
International & American Association for Dental Research
28-Jun-2006