Dental research firmly in the spotlight at recent industry event

The future of Australian dental research, across all branches of the profession, and beyond, is collaborative.

That was the passionate consensus of a panel, facilitated by Carolyn S Dean, which was convened at ADX Sydney last Friday for a breakfast event to celebrate and advance the work of the Australian Dental Research Foundation (ADRF), a joint initiative of the ADA and the Australian Dental Industry Association.

Comprising Conjoint Associate Professor Deb Cockrell AM, Associate Professor Munira Xaymardan, Dr Matt Hopcraft and Professor Ajesh George, all of whom either have direct involvement with the ADRF or have benefited from its longstanding grants program, the panel discussed the strong link between oral health and systemic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, the opportunity to improve oral healthcare disparities among disadvantaged parts of the Australian community, and the need for a coordinated interdisciplinary approach to dental research.

It was this last point in particular which really dominated the discussion with everyone agreeing that dentistry, which receives nothing like the level of funding that many other medical disciplines do, needs to pull together and unify its efforts to expand the knowledge that drives the growth and future promise of the profession.

Research is fundamental to the future shape, and even existence, of dentistry, observed Prof. George whose work at Western Sydney University in his role as the Director, Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health involves researching how oral health affects general health and educating medical and dental practitioners about this key link.

He noted, as did Dr Matt Hopcraft, a dental public health expert at the University of Melbourne, that without the kind of dental research grants provided by the ADRF that the bigger breakthroughs that drive advances in dental knowledge and practice simply wouldn’t exist.

These wider research projects rely on the early work done by university researchers who receive grants from the ADRF, not only in establishing promising areas of research but in giving promising researchers the experience they need to initiate more expansive, profession-changing projects.

They are also integral to the training of future members of the dental profession because it is these academics who become the trainers and the mentors of the next generation of dentists.

Both Conj. A/Professor Deb Cockrell AM and A/Prof Munira Xaymardan who chair the ADRF Marketing & Fundraising Committee and ADRF Research Advisory Committee respectively, spoke of how fundamental research is to the health and vitality and future work of the profession.

In an hour-long session which explored both the current reality and the future promise of dentistry, all four panel members agreed that for dental research to realise its full potential that the entire profession needs to come together, work as one and advance the future of dental research, which is integral not only to dentistry but to the future oral and overall health and wellbeing of all Australians.