Domenick T. Zero

Biography

Domenick T. Zero, DDS, MS, holds the position of Director of the Oral Health Research Institute and Professor of Department of Cariology, Operative Dentistry and Dental Public Health at Indiana University School of Dentistry. Dr. Zero previously held the position of Associate Director for Research and Associate Professor of Oral Sciences at Eastman Dental Center, Rochester, New York and Professor of Dentistry at the University of Rochester. After receiving his dental degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in 1975, Dr. Zero completed a general dentistry residency at the Eastman Dental Center and then a three-year research fellowship leading to a master's degree from the University of Rochester in 1979. As a principal investigator, he has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health and private industry. Dr. Zero has lectured extensively as an invited speaker throughout the country and abroad and is well recognized for his expertise in the field of Cariology and the use of in situ caries models. In 1996 he assumed the presidency of the Cariology Research Group of the International Association for Dental Research. From 1999 to 2001 he served as an elected member European Organization for Caries Research (ORCA) Advisory Board. He has also served as chair and vice-chair of the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs, as a member of the Dental Products Panel of the Food and Drug Administration's Medical Devices Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Expert Panel on School-based Dental Sealant Programs.

Research Interest

Studies on: the role of specific bacterial virulence factors in dental caries; improving the clinical efficacy of topical fluorides; fluoride distribution and clearance in the oral cavity; evaluation of the clinical efficacy of topical fluorides using in situ caries models; development and evaluation of new methods of early caries detection and caries lesion activity assessment; evaluation of etiology and prevention of dental erosion using in vitro and in situ models; Evaluating salivary diagnostic biomarkers.