IFDH Innovation Awards
The IFDH Innovation Awards program, sponsored by Haleon, recognizes innovative Dental Hygienists with a focus on technology and treatment.
The awards will recognize you, or someone you know, who is currently in the process of developing, or already developed (in the past 5-6 years):
- New equipment for achieving optimal oral health; or
- New treatments or oral health products for the oral health community to enable our colleagues to help their clients achieve a healthy mouth.
Whether as a solo researcher/developer or as part of a team, Haleon and IFDH want to recognize the innovators in our midst.
Deadline for Submission: January 30, 2025
2024 Innovation Award Winners
Developed Innovation
1st Place
Regenerative Periodontal EndoscopyJudy Carroll
United States
Judy Carroll, RDH, is the Founder and Clinical Director of PerioPeak Innovations, a private periodontal therapy practice providing a viable treatment option over periodontal surgery and tooth extractions for the past 25 years. PerioPeak Innovations has proudly treated thousands of patients from all over the world utilizing a non-invasive pioneering technique called Regenerative Periodontal Endoscopy, or RPE (a three-pronged approach involving regenerative proteins, host modulated therapy and periodontal endoscopy). Ms. Carroll recently opened a new periodontal therapy practice for the next phase of research and development and has exciting plans to develop an accredited post graduate teaching facility for comprehensive periodontal therapy education (hands-on and didactic instruction).
Innovation in Development
1st Place
AI dataset to reduce the incidence of gingivitis in the global populationAndrea Butera
Italy
Andrea Butera, RDH, PhD, Research Fellow at the University of Pavia as Director of Studies for the Dental Hygiene Degree Program, is working with students and Computer Science Engineers at eCampus University on a project to create a dataset for diagnosing gingivitis using Deep Learning. This project will train artificial intelligence to provide clinicians with an optimal tool to improve clinical performance, provide patients with a tool to improve their quality of life, and reduce the incidence of periodontal disease globally. The image acquisition, currently approximately 3,000, has immediately allowed the differentiation between healthy and inflamed tissue. The next step will involve providing the dataset with images for differentiating inflammation.
Past Award Winners