they “also reviewed the agenda for a conference on the role of human foodstuffs in dental caries” . Caries Task Force Steering Committee member Basil Bibby would participate in the conference organization , and would have the chance to discuss the state of research on models identifying the cariogenicity of foods with the Caries Task Force, but not until March 1970 .
In October 1969, the same month the Caries Task Force Steering Committee was evaluating research priorities to eradicate dental caries (Table 1) [31,71], ISRF President Ross convened his Panel Meeting of the Dental Caries Task Force to consult on ISRF’s dental caries research priorities . As Table 2 illustrates, the membership of ISRF’s panel overlapped almost completely with the NIDR Caries Task Force Steering Committee. All members of the NIDR Caries Task Force Steering Committee sat on the ISRF expert panel, with the exception of Fitzgerald, whose research on S. mutans had identified sucrose as the worst offender in smooth surface cavities [31,53]. The significant overlap between the membership of the ISRF expert panel and that of the NIDR Caries Task Force Steering Committee gave ISRF direct access to the NIDR’s Caries Task Force Steering Committee.
ISRF’s summary of the ISRF Panel Meeting of the Dental Caries Task Force indicates that the ISRF panel “recommended that a study be made of the cariogenicity of carbohydrate-containing foodstuffs” but did not mention studying the tooth-decay-causing potential of foods in its final “major approaches to caries”  (Table 3, column D).
Industry submits recommendations to the NIDR.
ISRF submitted the findings from its series of meetings to the NIDR Caries Task Force late in 1969 in a report titled Dental Caries Research—1969 . While recognizing the causative role of sugar in tooth decay, ISRF downplayed the feasibility of restricting consumption of sugars while promoting advances made in areas of dextranase and caries vaccine research . It also summarized dental caries interventions that would reduce the harm of sugar without impacting consumption, including phosphate food additives, protective sealants, and fluoride delivery through expanded community water programs, topical application, and addition to sugar, salt, or flour . The research priorities identified by the NIDR Caries Task Force Steering Committee in October 1969 (Table 3, column C) are strongly aligned with ISRF’s submission (Table 3, column E), with the notable exception of developing a model to identify the cariogenicity of foods.
During fall 1969, the Nixon administration focused on biomedical research policy and showed signs of interest in supporting the NCP . In January 1970, Caries Task Force Chairman Scherp submitted the report A National Caries Program of the National Institute of Dental Research: Ten-Year Program of Research and Development  in response to a request from the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for a detailed plan for developing dental caries interventions . Scherp’s report was based on the work of the NIDR Caries Task Force Steering Committee at its October meeting . Later that month, the Assistant Secretary for Health indicated that President Nixon would endorse the program .
Launch of the National Dental Caries Program, 1970–1971
During his February 1970 budget message, President Nixon announced support for “substantial increases in research on cancer, heart disease, serious childhood illnesses, and dental health—where current findings promise significant advances for the future” . A line item in the budget allocated US$5 million (US$30.6 million in 2014 dollars) for the NCP in fiscal year 1971 .
In February 1970, after President Nixon’s public endorsement of the NCP but before the NIDR officially released the NCP research priorities, ISRF mailed its report International Sugar Research Foundation Special Report: Dental Caries  to its Scientific Advisory Board. The ISRF report began, “The correlation between sugar and dental decay—a practical concern of the sugar industry for many years—may become a pur