About Us

The BigMouth Project

The BigMouth Project is a significant collaborative initiative aimed at gathering and leveraging data from millions of individuals residing in the United States. Our primary objective is to enhance oral health outcomes through the collective data we gather.

Our mission is to expand the range of dental information available, enabling researchers to explore potential correlations among various health factors across different regions of the country. To support and advance dental research, we utilize specific data points.

By bringing together a diverse range of dental data, we strive to facilitate a deeper understanding of oral health and contribute to the overall improvement of dental research.

Explore the Dental Institutions Engaged in the BigMouth Project

Numerous dental institutions have enthusiastically joined the BigMouth initiative, contributing to the growth and enrichment of our existing database. These institutions actively input their own data, making it accessible to all BigMouth participants. The comprehensive dataset within BigMouth encompasses contributions from multiple dental institutions and is securely hosted at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

We eagerly anticipate the involvement of new participants who will further enhance our data repository. Presently, the following institutions are actively engaged in the project:

• UTHealth | School of Dentistry
• Harvard | School of Dental Medicine
• Tufts University | School of Dental Medicine
• The University of California, San Francisco | School of Dentistry
• The University of Pittsburgh | School of Dental Medicine
• The University of Michigan | School of Dentistry
• University of Colorado | School of Dental Medicine
• Loma Linda University | School of Dentistry
• University of Buffalo | School of Dental Medicine
• The University of Iowa | College of Dentistry
• The University of Minnesota | School of Dentistry
• Marquette University | School of Dentistry
• Texas Tech University | Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine
• University of Florida | College of Dentistry
• University of Pennsylvania | School of Dental Medicine
• University of Puerto Rico | School of Dental Medicine
• Methodist Healthcare Ministries
• Stony Brook University | School of Dental Medicine

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is BigMouth?

  BigMouth is a centralized oral health data repository derived from electronic health records (EHRs) at multiple dental schools. With demographic, medical history, and dental data on over 6 million patients, this oral health database is available for research and the advancement of evidence-based dentistry.

• Who are the partnering institutions?

  Please visit this page to see a list of our Partnering Institutions.

• Why should your institution join BigMouth?

  BigMouth offers key advantages for researchers and institutions:

  • Research Access to Over 6 Million Patient Records- As a member of a partnering institution, you'll have access to the BigMouth i2b2 Workbench, which contains data from more than 6 million patients. This allows you to query a vast and diverse dataset to support your research.
  • An Ever-growing Community of Researchers-  More than 720 members have accessed the i2b2 Workbench, conducting over 23,000 queries on our robust database. The data available includes- Demographics, Diagnosis, Procedures, Forms, Odontogram, Periodontal Charts, Medication, Insurance, Practice and Provider.
    
  • Prioritized Data Requests from Partnering Institutions- BigMouth gives priority to data requests from researchers affiliated with partnering institutions. Our dedicated staff is always available to assist with your research needs, ensuring a seamless experience when accessing and utilizing data.
  • Support for Student and Resident Projects- BigMouth is committed to fostering the growth of emerging researchers. We support data requests from students and residents at partnering institutions, funding not being a constraint. Many of these projects have been successfully published or presented as posters at national and international conferences.

  For inquiries and more information to join BigMouth, please contact the BigMouth support team at ([email protected]).

  Questions or Concerns?

  Complete our Contact Us form

• What does axiUm folder contain?

  The axiUm node contains the (user's) site specific terminologies. Users can query for data available in axiUm at their own site. The number displayed adjacent to each folder/leaf node represents the number of patients.

  • Demographics: contains age, gender, and race/ethnicity. User can query age by value with the following operators: <, >, ≥, ≤, =, between.
  • Diagnosis: contains Dental Diagnostic System (DDS) terminologies, formerly known as the EZCodes diagnostic terminology. User can query a diagnosis with or without date range.
  • Forms: contains medical, dental history of patients, and caries risk assessment. In addition, each site may have other specific forms. User can query a form question with or without date range.
  • Insurance: contains the names of insurance companies that insure patients.
  • Medication: contains prescription and patient's current medication information and can be queried with or without date range.
  • Odontogram: contains existing materials, existing conditions on a specified tooth or surface and the total number of missing teeth.
  • Perio: contains clinical periodontal parameters which could be queried by examination types (e.g. initial examination, re-evaluation examination).
  • Practice: contains details about the different practices in a site.
  • Procedures: contains Dental Procedure Codes (CDT) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) procedures which could be queried with or without date range.
  • Providers: contains different dental health providers such as dental student, dentist, resident , hygienist etc.
• How is the age calculated?

  Age is calculated from the date of patient's last recorded observation (procedure, diagnosis etc.).

• What does the Combined -All Sites folder contain?

  This folder provides a combined terminology system that allows users to query for data from all schools that contribute data to BigMouth.

  • Demographics: contains age, gender, language and race/ethnicity from all schools.
  • Dental Procedures: contains CDT and CPT procedures from all schools.
  • Diagnosis: contains Dental Diagnostic System (DDS) terminologies 
  • Forms: contains medical and dental history from all schools. It also contains caries risk assessment (CAMBRA) from all schools.
  • Insurance Type: contains the names of insurance companies that insure patients from all schools.
  • Odontogram: contains existing materials, existing conditions on a specified tooth or surface, and the total number of missing teeth from all schools.
  • Perio: contains clinical periodontal parameters from all schools.
  • Providers: contains different dental health providers from all schools.
• Where is the Race/ethnicity standard derived from?

  Race/ethnicity standard derived based on NIH guidelines.