Designated as the first dental research worker, Dr. H. Trendley Dean studied the communities affected by the oral disease known as mottled enamel.

Following the implementation of a water fluoridation trial in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR), was established by President Harry S. Truman on June 24, 1948.

In an effort to expand the NIDR, plans to finance the construction of a building for the institute were approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958.

This program hoped to establish research and training environments, as well as promote interdisciplinary approaches to combating oral diseases.

In continuing with its mission to distribute important health information, the NIDR launched its official website in 1996.