JADA wins National Health Information Award for sealants article

Stem cell cover illustration also earns recognition

July was a good month for The Journal of the American Dental Association as it won awards for patient education and artistic design.

The ADA’s flagship journal received a 2024 National Health Information Award for a patient-focused piece on sealants that ran in its October 2023 issue. “Reducing the Risk of Cavities with Sealants,” an article in JADA’s monthly For the Patient section, earned bronze in the magazine/newspaper/newsletter article category. For the Patient is an educational page on oral health that may be reproduced as a patient handout to prompt treatment discussions between dentists and their patients.

The awards program from the Health Information Resource Center recognizes the nation’s best in consumer health information programs and materials. A panel of judges from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Baylor University, Mayo Clinic and other entities evaluated award entries for content and design/creativity using a rating scale of 1 to 100. The scores were then totaled and averaged, with gold, silver, bronze and merit awards going to the highest-scoring entries.

JADA was notified of the award on July 29.

“I was proud to learn that JADA earned the National Health Information Award for the ‘For the Patient’ article on sealant use to reduce cavities risk,” said JADA Editor-in-Chief Tim Wright, D.D.S. ”It’s well deserved, though not surprising. Anita Mark, informationist with the ADA Library & Archives, writes the monthly column, which provides the kind of useful information and practical tips that help patients speak to their oral health care team about important oral health issues. The mission of JADA is to provide an educational forum for readers, which includes patients and the recipients of oral care. Anita’s invaluable contributions fill that need.”

Earlier in July, JADA also earned a 2024 GDUSA American Inhouse Design Award for the illustration on the cover of its December 2023 issue. The cover story, “Stem Cells in Clinical Dentistry,” discussed the future use of stem cell-based therapies in dentistry.

Graphic Design USA provides news and information to graphic designers and the broader creative community, and its awards celebrate work by in-house designers and their departments. This year, the competition saw nearly 5,000 entries and recognized the top 10%.

“The award-winning cover, representing stem cell research and therapy, was truly outstanding and deserving of this recognition,” Dr. Wright said. “The cover’s design and artwork by ADA graphic designer Kristin Trusco is a testament to the excellence and creativity of those helping produce every issue of JADA.”

To view the October and December 2023 issues of JADA and other content from the journal, including a new gallery of past and present covers, visit JADA.ADA.org.