PEARL—Practitioners Engaged in Applied Research and Learning—is an NIH-sponsored network of private-practice dentists who conduct clinical studies in the course of routine patient care. PEARL Network studies originate with ideas submitted by PEARL members and seek answers to questions of immediate interest to their profession.
Overview
PEARL Practitioner-Investigators generate ideas for and conduct studies that seek research-based solutions to the problems routinely confronted by general practitioners. PEARL studies are conducted by more than 100 Practitioner-Investigators in 20 states serving a diverse patient population.
PEARL Practitioner-Investigators enjoy several benefits, including Continuing Education credits from New York University.
PEARL Network Organization
The PEARL membership enjoys the support of a PEARL Network infrastructure that includes personnel from the New York University College of Dentistry, the EMMES Corporation, and the National Insitutes of Health as well as an External Advisory Board of extramural experts and an Institutional Review Board.
Development and conduct of PEARL Network studies is overseen by the PEARL Executive Committee—most of whose members are elected by and from among the PEARL membership—and is managed by a PEARL Executive Management Team composed of NYU faculty who collectively represent nearly one hundred years of clinical research experience. PEARL Network operations are further supported by a world-class data-coordinating center (EMMES Corporation), the largest commercial dental benefit plan in the U.S. (MetLife Dental), and a panel of distinguished extramural investigators and consultants.
PEARL History
The PEARL Network was launched in 2005 when New York University College of Dentistry received a $26.7 million award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (part of NIH) to establish one of three regional practice-based research networks with the mandate to expand the research evidence base in dentistry. Over its 7-year grant period, the PEARL Network is expected to conduct approximately 20 short-term studies, several of which are currently under way or in the planning stages.
Our Current PEARL study
Complete vs. Partial Removal of Deep Caries
Management of carious lesions close to the pulp has always been a challenge, and the prognosis for recommended treatments is not well documented. A PEARL survey of its membership revealed that 80% remove all caries from deep lesions. This study aims to (1) compare the tooth vitality, at 1 year post-treatment, of complete vs. partial caries removal in deep Class I lesions; (2) assess the effects of deep caries treatment on patient's postoperative hypersensitivity and oral health–related quality of life; and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of cavity lining and bonding techniques