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BigMouth: a multi-institutional dental data repository.
Muhammad F Walji1, Elsbeth Kalenderian2, Paul C Stark3
1Department of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences Office of Technology Services and Informatics, School of Dentistry The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Summary
Researchers created BigMouth, a centralized oral health database from electronic health records (EHRs). This initiative supports evidence-based dentistry research by consolidating patient data from four dental schools.
Area of Science:
- Oral Health Informatics
- Dental Research Data Management
- Evidence-Based Dentistry
Background:
- Limited availability of oral health databases hinders research and evidence-based dentistry.
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in dentistry contain valuable data but are often siloed.
- Need for standardized data repositories to facilitate collaborative dental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a centralized data repository from dental electronic health records (EHRs).
- To establish a data governance framework promoting secure data sharing among institutions.
- To create a valuable resource for advancing oral health research and informatics.
Main Methods:
- Leveraged data from four dental schools within the Consortium of Oral Health Research and Informatics.
- Implemented a multi-stakeholder committee to create a data governance framework.
- Utilized the i2b2 data warehousing platform and mapped institutional data to a common reference terminology.
Main Results:
- Successfully launched the BigMouth database in August 2012, containing data from 1.1 million patients.
- Identified urgent need for common terminologies in dental EHRs, noting discrepancies in diagnostic codes and history documentation.
- Established a functional data repository accessible to researchers at contributing institutions.
Conclusions:
- The BigMouth database provides a significant resource for oral health research.
- Standardization of terminologies within dental EHR systems is critical for future data integration.
- Centralized data repositories are feasible and beneficial for advancing dental science.
