"The ADRF [Australian Dental Research Foundation] funding has allowed us to expand our research parameters and introduce greater innovation."
Manju Sofia Pitchai, a PhD candidate undertaking dental research at Griffith University, Harnessing the immune response to enhance osseointegration, acknowledges the role of the ADRF in supporting early career researchers. She hopes that her work will inspire other young dental graduates to become researchers. So does the ADRF, its partners and supporters.
The importance of supporting student and early-career dental researchers
Since it was established in 1974 by Mr Colin Cormie OBE, the Australian Dental Research and Education Trust, as it was known then, has been supporting dental students in progressing their careers in dental research.
Existing research tells us that oral diseases do not occur in isolation; they are often linked to other non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, dementia and Type 2 diabetes. This is due to common risk factors such as diet, lifestyle (smoking, alcohol use), stress, hygiene and lack of exercise. Therefore, based on what we know, dental research needs to be as much about prevention as it is about intervention. Research allows dental students to develop a deeper understanding of the biological and social factors that underpin dentistry.
The evolution of dentistry is directly related to advancements made through research. Importantly, research can impact all areas of dentistry leading to improved delivery of care for patients, reduction of risk factors, and better management of the burden of oral disease, for the benefit of individuals, the health system and the economy.
A registered charity since 2018, the ongoing role of the ADRF, in supporting early career researchers through undergraduate scholarships and post-graduate research grants, is critical – even during a pandemic.
Each year donations assist the ADRF to offer a range of research grants and scholarships. Major donors include Reginald and Pamela Hession, GC Australasia, The Clark Family, Australian Dental Association Western Australian Branch, and the Straumann Group.
To date, with the help of its donors, the ADRF has supported more than 2,500 diverse dental research
projects conducted by dental students, early- and mid-career researchers, and senior dental researchers working in our world-class dental schools throughout Australia.
These projects have broadened the knowledge base of dentistry and led to positive impacts on individual oral health treatment, treating chronic disease, rethinking what we eat and drink, protecting our environment, and utilising modern technologies such as nano technology and 3D printing to innovate dental practice.
This year, with funding support from the ADRF, dental researchers like João Martins de Mello Neto are undertaking projects aimed at:
- enhancing the dental health of young children and the nutritional well-being of older Australians;
- preventing dental caries, gum disease and oral cancer;
- improving restorative and reconstructive dentistry;
- eliminating the systemic health risks associated with dentistry;
- decreasing the anxiety associated with dental treatment; and
- developing new products that will offer cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing dental treatment options.
João Martins de Mello Neto, or just 'Jo' to his laboratory colleagues, is a dental surgeon from Brazil with a Master degree in Periodontology. He moved to Australia to undertake his PhD candidacy. His project Experimental periodontitis in rats with inflammatory bowel disease: an immunological and histopathological study aims to investigate the possible link between periodontitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Periodontitis is thought to influence systemic autoimmune or inflammatory diseases including respiratory disease, chronic kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cognitive impairment, obesity, metabolic syndrome and cancer, but the association between Inflammatory bowel disease and periodontitis has not yet been firmly established.
Jo also collaborates with his dental research colleagues in Brazil. He says that "with ADRF funding we are able
to develop and evaluate additional experiments to show how these two diseases could be linked."
This year the ADRF has received more than 120 grant applications for new research projects ready to commence in 2022.
Where to from here?
Dental industry stakeholders know that oral health is a key factor impacting general health, but it hasn't always been recognised as a priority.
On 27 May this year, a meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) changed that. Health ministries from around the world approved a resolution that puts achieving better oral health back on the global agenda. The resolution tasks the WHO with creating a global oral health strategy that outlines ways to tackle oral diseases in consultation with WHO member states by 2022. By 2023, the draft will be translated into an action plan.
Closer to home, the National Oral Health Plan Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives: Australia's National Oral Health
Plan 2015–2024 identified oral health research as a priority. Oral disease was recognised as the second most costly disease group in Australia, second only to cardiovascular diseases. It also concluded that the cost and impact of poor oral health in Australia warrants a structured and coordinated approach to oral health research.
In May this year, the ADRF convened its Inaugural Dental Research Symposium: Putting dental research on the
national agenda, as part of ADX2021. The purpose of the symposium was to provide input from a variety of industry stakeholders to the future direction of the ADRF. It was acknowledged that government will have finite resources available to support dental research due to the impact of COVID-19 and that industry will need to step up as it has in managing issues such as climate change, waste management, and reduction in the use of plastics. There was a general agreement that the development of dental research capability in Australia needs to continue. Strategic collaboration within the dental industry and with other relevant stakeholders was also identified as a priority.
With oral health on the global agenda and oral health research recognised as a priority in the National Oral Health Plan, as Australia's borders open nationally and internationally the context for transformation and growth within the dental industry is positive.
Pivotal to its growth strategy and long-term sustainability, the ADRF looks forward to strengthening its partnership with the Australian Dental Association and the Australian Dental Industry Association, and deepening its engagement within the industry and with other relevant stakeholders with whom it shares common values and purpose during 2022.
Supporting Australian dental researchers is more important than ever to deliver on the industry's promise
of the best possible oral healthcare to all Australians.
This article was first published in the ADA's News Bulletin December 2021 edition - for the full issue and back issues, go to News Bulletin online
