Center/Institute View

58 Center/Institute Views

Center

Claude Denson Pepper Center for Research in Oral Health in Aging (Health Science Center)
University:	University of Florida
Director:	Marc W. Heft
Address:	P O Box 100416 Gainesville, FL 32610-0416
Phone:	(352) 273-6721
Fax:	(352) 273-6719
E-mail:	mwheft@ufl.edu
URL:	http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~gilbert/
Type:	University Institute or Center
Mission:	The principal aim of the Claude Denson Pepper Center for Research in Oral Health in Aging is the development of a critical mass of multidisciplinary (and interdisciplinary) investigators to study issues related to oral health in aging (i.e., development of 'new knowledge'). Extensive gerontology and geriatrics resources are available locally, both within the University and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center. The Center provides an intellectual focus for the exploration of issues related to improving the oral health of older adults. Most recently, we have been assessing: (1) the impacts of aging and chronic diseases of aging (e.g., diabetes) on oral health outcomes, and (2) sensory aging including neuropathic pain conditions more common in older adults (e.g., postherpetic neuralgia or "shingles pain") in older adults. Recently, we have been invited to collaborate with colleagues on a multi-site study of the predictive validity of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer, a disease with higher prevalence among older individuals.
Research Descriptors:	Aging Dental and Oral Diseases and Disorders Geriatrics Gerontology

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