This is a transcription of a monologue I delivered to the AAFS Odontology Section at the Section's 2021 Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, Feb 10.  I post it here by request: 

I just want to take a few minutes to talk about something that has really been weighing on my mind.  You know, at every one of our meetings for the last—well, many—years folks will invariably come up to me and say something like “well, we need more research....more research…more research.” 

And I’ve come to understand, at least as I think I understand it, that means “someone else needs to do some research.”  And then no research gets done because we’re all waiting on someone else to do it. 

Well, let me tell you—someone else doesn’t care about our research.  Someone else isn’t going to do our research. We have to do our research.  After all, we know more about forensic odontology than anyone else.  And we care about it more than anyone else. So we’re going to have to do it. After some things that have happened, I think maybe everyone is somewhat afraid to do any research in odontology, especially in one particular area—but, if we want research, then we’re going to have to do research. 

So, what am I saying?  Ok, a little personal disclosure here—I’ve just retired after 16 ½ years working full time at a Medical Examiner’s office.  It was a terrific job and I hated to leave.  There’s various reasons why I retired—it was just time for several reasons—but one very important reason for me was that I wanted to go to graduate school and learn how to do proper research, and fortunately I was in a position to be able to get to do that. So that’s what I’m doing in a PhD program in forensics, and I’m loving it. 

Why did I want to do this?  People look at me and tell me I’m crazy—you know, at my advanced age and all that, but the reason is—as I will certainly admit—I was rather critical of some odontology studies done in the not-so-distant past by some of our colleagues who are at this very meeting.  But when I sat down and looked at myself in the mirror, I realized in my heart of hearts “who am I to criticize these studies?  I don’t have any academic research credentials. What am I doing?”  I think I owe them an apology.  So, I apologize.

And I think that, if we’re all being honest, we have to admit that as undergraduate dental students we simply are not taught research design and research methods and statistics, etc., etc.  It’s just not in the curriculum for folks who are going to be clinical practitioners.  Oh, when folks go on to specialty programs, they get some of that training, but most of us dentists didn’t have that opportunity. 

So my hope is—my challenge is—if “we” need more research—then go do it‼!  Quit telling me that someone else needs to do research. 

Anybody here that’s graduated from dental school can get in a masters degree program in biology at their local college or university.  If you’re worried about taking the GRE—ask for a waiver based on your dental degree. Ask if they'll accept your ancient DAT scores--if you can find them!  You may find some schools have very flexible entrance requirements right now due to the circumstances we find ourselves in.  

So go do that!  Go learn proper research methods, research design, statistics. What was your undergraduate major?—Biology? Chemistry? Physics? Do a masters degree in that and a thesis on something that can apply to forensic dentistry in some way. Just do it!!

And most of you know we have two active fellowship programs in the U.S.—Dr. Senn’s program at San Antonio and the newer fellowship and master’s degree program in Knoxville under Dr. Jim Lewis.  The Fellows in those programs need research projects—volunteer to mentor them!  Get with them and do some kind of study. Do it!

Because, in my view, all is not gloom and doom for the future of forensic odontology by any means.  In the two Fellowship programs I just mentioned, for example, we are having many, many applicants interested--more than we can accomodate most years.  For the ABFO board exam---after some, well, “tweaking” of the requirements--we’ve had a resurgence of folks applying to challenge the exam.  There’s still a lot of interest out there.

Now, you might be wondering “wait a minute, why this call for research when we’re actually in the middle of a meeting where research is being presented?”  And that’s a good question.  My concern is that in looking at the other sections, such as Criminalistics or Path/Bio for example, they may have more than twice the number of abstracts submitted than the number they can accept.  Frankly, most years Odontology can barely scrape together enough presentations to put on a program. We had a total of 22 submissions this year out of a grand total of 921 for the entire Academy--that's like, what...two and one-half per cent?  We were the lowest of all sections—so, even though some research is being done, there’s not a lot in comparison to the other disciplines here. 

And I do understand that IRB requirements and HIPAA and ethical constraints sometimes grossly hamper the research we are able to do with living human subjects, but, nonetheless, if one is determined, it can be done.

So, do some research!  Proper, well-thought-out, well-designed research.  We need to get past all the personal disputes we’ve been having and instead we need to-–as is popular to say at this time—follow the science.  Do the unbiased research and let the chips fall where they may.  But we need to move forward.  It’s time….because none of us want innocent people sitting in jail.

But you know what?

Innocent people are sitting in jail.