Pediatric Dentistry Resident Brittany Schweiger, DDS, Wins AAPD's Ralph E. McDonald Award

Dr. Brittany Schweiger, a second-year resident in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry, recently won the prestigious Ralph E. McDonald Award in the Graduate Student Research Competition at this year's annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD).

The McDonald award is the top prize in the research competition, and it is presented to the graduate student with the most outstanding research project among those submitted by competitors nationwide. Dr. Schweiger's project was titled "Risk of Ankylosis in Children with Permanent Tooth Intrusion Injuries."

The research project aims to define the characteristics of patients who have sustained an intrusion injury in the permanent dentition and to assess potential healing complications in relation to specific variables. Based on the limited existing data, it is hypothesized that the more severe the injury and the more aggressive treatment rendered, the more likely are results such as pulp necrosis, ankylosis, and the need for decoronation/extraction. It is also anticipated that the stage of root maturation will have a direct effect on healing complications, and higher incidences of pulp necrosis, ankylosis, and decoronation/extraction will increase in frequency as the root becomes more mature.

Dr. Schweiger's research adviser is Ehsan Azadani, DDS, MS, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry.