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Dentathon 2025

Novel research proposals funded by the Faculty鈥檚 hackathon-style event
Three people stand beside a lectern during a presentation. In focus, in the foreground, is a schedule for the event at which the group is presenting: "Dentathon"
Robbie Loxham | 14 Feb 2025
Faculty News
Research

Dentathon 2025, the third edition of the Faculty鈥檚 internal pilot project seed-funding competition, took place this February 10 at Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada, located at the 91社区 Health Centre鈥檚 Glen site.

Nine teams, all mixtures of faculty members and current and former students, presented their research project proposals to the assembled audience. These innovative 鈥榩ilots鈥� ranged widely in scope, from canine therapy and sensory adaptive dental environments for children with autism spectrum disorder, to 3D-printed dental implants and a proposal to manage temporomandibular disorders with Botulinum Toxin (鈥楤otox鈥�). See the full list of proposals by听following this link.

Two people stand behind a lectern. One is speaking, gesturing with her hands, and the other is looking out at an un-pictured audience.
Elizabeth Zimmermann and PhD student Nesma El-Amier present their research proposal

Audience-perspective view of a presentation. Two people stand behind a lectern, presenting. One, speaking, wears a black and white striped top. The other stands nearby, wearing a surgical mask.
Dr. Zovinar Der Khatchadourian and DMD undergraduate student, Pamela Brunori, propose their pilot research project

An audience's perspective view of a presentation. In the background, the three presenters stand behind a lectern, in the foreground one audience member leans over to whisper something to another.
Audience members confer during presentations

Audience-perspective view of a presentation. In the background, a person in a grey top presents. In the foreground sit two people wearing hijab head coverings.
DMD student Philip Lu presents his proposed research study to the audience

The audience, in turn, had the opportunity to ask questions about the proposals and to provide feedback, facilitated by Bettina Willie, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Dental Education. It also had the responsibility of deciding which research projects the Faculty should fund: every audience member who took part in the whole event was eligible to grade each presentation according to certain criteria. These grades selected which projects to fund and how much to allocate to these.

View of audience from behind. Towards the centre of the image, a hand is raised to ask a question.
Audience questions and comments were many

Side-view of a woman in blue top and grey dress asking a question amid an audience. She is gesturing with her hands while audience members look on.
Dr. Ana Velly asked the lion鈥檚 share of the questions

View from behind of a woman in a blue top over a long grey dress asking a question to two people standing behind a lectern.
Dr. Velly poses another question

A seated woman with long hair holds a sheet of paper up in front of her with one hand. The sheet reads "3 minutes remaining".
Infallible timekeeper, Despoina Moirakidou

Six out of the nine research proposals were funded, with a total of $36,465 given out. These selected teams now have 18 months to carry out their research using the funds they were allocated, with the results to be presented at Research Day 2026!

Funded projects from Dentathon 2025
Pilot Project Title Team Members
Ultrasound Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency of the inferior Alveolar Nerve for the Management of Painful Traumatic Trigeminal Neuropathy: A Case Series Dr. Zovinar Der Khatchadourian, Dr. Carolina B. Meloto, Dr. Stella Predoiu, Isha Trivedi
Canine Therapy at the Montreal Children鈥檚 Division of Dentistry: A Qualitative Pilot Project Dr. Alissa Levine, Dr. Beatriz Ferraz dos Santos, Ena Huerta
Exploring Mandibular Advancement Devices and Wax Models in Decision-Making for Maxillo-mandibular Advancement in Obstructive-Sleep Apnea Patients: A Pilot Study Dr. Jordan Gigliotti, Dr. Julia Cohen-Levy, Damian Rendon, Gianfranco Patella
Muscle -and Vascular- Tissue Associated Changes in Temporomandibular Disorders Managed with Botulinum Toxin Elizabeth Zimmermann, Dr. Firoozeh Samim, Mahmoud Moussa
Caries Prevention Program for Young Children in a Disadvantaged Montreal Community: A Pre-implementation Study Dr. Svetlana Tikhonova, Dr. Nora Makansi
Effectiveness of Sensory Adaptive Dental Environments to Support Positive Behaviours in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder During Desensitization Appointments Dr. Beatriz Ferraz dos Santos, Dr. Edwin Chan, Lucas Jung, Dr. Rebecca Israel
Special thanks to Crystal Noronha, Despoina Moirakidou, Alexander Vlaanderen, and Gauri Sethi for ensuring the event鈥檚 smooth running.

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