On August 16, 2024, AGD wrote to House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5), advocating against the proposed restructuring of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Previously on June 14, 2024, Chair Rodgers released a NIH restructuring framework and requested stakeholder input. The framework proposes streamlining NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) into 15 new ICs, and would place the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) under a new National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research. The National Eye Institute (NEI) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) would also be placed under the newly proposed institute, potentially leaving the NIDCR competing for funding and attention. In our letter, AGD wrote that “we do not support the proposed consolidation because we are concerned that the new agency would not appropriately address research into our nation’s oral health care needs.” AGD also signed onto a letter led by the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) opposing the restructuring. 
 
AGD’s letter is available here.
 
AADOCR’s letter is available here.
 
The proposed NIH reform framework is available here.
 
Impact on General Dentistry: The NIDCR is the nation’s leading research entity focused on improving oral, dental, and craniofacial health through research, training, and disseminating information. AGD worries that placing NIDCR under another IC will significantly harm NIDCR’s ability to achieve its mission of advancing the prevention, early detection, and treatment of oral and dental health diseases. AGD will continue updating members on the status of the proposed restructuring.