Thank you to all the residents and presenters who participated in the 2026 AAPD Research Poster Session and Resident Research Award competition! Your contributions showcased the future of pediatric dentistry and the impactful work being done across the country.

 
1st Place

Kaushik Mukherjee, DDS, PhD
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Oxymetazoline as a Pulpotomy Medicament: Effects on MTA Structure-Function

 
2nd Place

Dayl T. Chachappan, BDS, MPH

University of Texas Health Science, San Antonio, TX
CarioNet: Predicting Proximal Caries Progression Using Machine Learning

 
3rd Place

Tori Bernard, DMD
University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC)
Cellular Effects of Silver Diamine Fluoride in Oral Cells

 

We also want to recognize the top scorers of each research track:

 

Sydnie Thomas - Caries Track
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago IL
Comparative Enamel Remineralization Using SDF, Fluoride Varnish, and Curodont Repair

Franklin Zhang - Preventive Track
University of California, San Francisco
Dental Appointment Availability for Young Children with Medi-Cal Insurance in San Francisco

 

Bita Fathipour - Sedation Track
University of Washington/Seattle Children's Hospital
Postoperative Pain and Analgesic Use after Pediatric Dental General Anesthesia

 

Julia Jagannath - Special Health Care Needs Track
NCH/OSU Pediatric Residency
The Cariogenic Effect of Nutritional Drink Supplements in Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

 

Sophia Altenburg - Patient Management Track
Denver Health Department of Pediatric Dentistry
Parent Perspectives on Dental Participation in a Multidisciplinary Care Clinic

 

Anthony Leisure - Trauma Track
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
CBCT-Based 3D-Printed Simulation Model for Pediatric Dental Trauma Training

 

Zachary Jones - Pulp Therapy Track
St. Barnabas Hospital, Bellmore NY
Salivary pH and the Correlation of Dental Caries in the Pediatric Patient

 

Alec Weiss - Restorative Track
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Evaluating Mechanical Properties of Prismo and Traditional Stainless-Steel Crowns

 

Molly McCormick - Oral Pathology Track
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Inhibition of Oral/Systemic Pathogens by Polyols

 

Alexander O'Connor - Other
University of Louisville Pediatric Dental Residency Program
Evaluating and Improving Dental Patient Education Material (PEM) Readability Using Validated Readability Metrics and a Constrained AI Prompt Framework

 

 

Pre Doc Student Submissions

 

Special recognition of our first High School Poster Presenter:

 

William Pham
Lake Braddock Sec. School
Caries Prevalence and Oral Health Disparities among Diverse Pediatric Patients

 
Other Presenters:

Bailey Axelrad
Roseman College of Dental Medicine
From Image to Chairside Decision-Making: Unsupervised Morphological Clustering of Carious Lesions in Intraoral Photographs and Its Alignment with Clinical Severity

 

Sophia Broome
Medical University of South Carolina
Chemomechanical Caries Removal with Papacarie Duo: A Comprehensive Review of an Exciting Alternate Treatment

 

Astrid Bucaro
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY
Topical 5-Fluorouracil is Effective in Young Patients with Odontogenic Keratocysts

 

Rob Donegan
University of Louisville, Louisville KY
Interactive Nutrition App for Pediatric Oral Health Education

 

Karolina Grodzki

Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY
The Fourth P? Peripheral Odontogenic Fibroma in a Pediatric Patient

 

Karolina Grodzki
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY
Emergent Needs Prior to General Anesthesia: Variations for Special Health Care Needs

 

Graham Haines
Indiana University School of Dentistry
Effects of Social Determinants of Health on dmft

 

Sahar Kazmi
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois
Pediatric TMD: Prevalence and Risk Correlates in BigMouth

 

Abbey Kim
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Epidemiological Study of Dental Caries and Cardiovascular Health in Children

 

Ethan Kloster
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Parental Perceptions of Telehealth for Underage Three Dental Visits

 

Elizabeth Lam
Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Houston TX
Smiles For All: Student-Patient Partnership Model for Special Needs Individuals

 

Anna Lubitz
Tufts University, Medford MA
Cross-Cultural Assessment of Caregiver Attitudes on Pediatric Dental Anxiety Aids

 

Anna Lubitz
Tufts University, Medford MA
Evaluation of "Mini-Dental School: Explorations in Dental Medicine" Pre-College Program

 

Maggie Manson
University of Iowa College of Dentistry
Dentists' Opinions on Transitioning Care for Adolescents with Special Needs

 

Daphne Raigrodski
Boston University, Boston MA
Predoctoral Minimally Invasive Pediatric Dental Curriculum: United States-United Kingdom

 

Maicel Sims
Kansas City University
Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Health Screening Knowledge Skills and Attitudes

 

Sydney Sorensen
Roseman College of Dental Medicine
Beyond Sugar: Nutrient Patterns and Dental Caries Risk in US Children Using Explainable Machine Learning

 

Sneha Varghese
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia PA
An Analysis of Children's Storybooks about Dentistry

 

Emily Yang
University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry
Effects Of Variation In RUNX2 Tandem Repeats On Jaw Development

 

Ryan Zanganeh
New York University, New York NY
Decreased Microbial Diversity Suggests Greater Activity in Pediatric Crohn's Disease