Jukka Meurman

Jukka H. Meurman

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland

Translational oral health research

“Translational research” is a fashionable term, practically meaning science where basic biomedical findings are implemented in the clinic with, preferably, improvements in the health of populations. Dental and oral health related research has traditionally been focused on specific and narrow discipline areas such as cariology, periodontology, prosthodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery…The drawback in such a restrictive thinking has been the lack of holistic approach. More recently, however, the silo-thinking has been refuted and the patient is regarded comprehensively. A good example here is the current paradigm where oral infections are related to systemic health. Furthermore, “from the laboratory to the clinic”-approach has given us probiotics or health beneficial bacteria, probably used thousands of years by man, but only recently applied also in diseases of the mouth thanks to basic laboratory research. In the future, translational research is expected to result in novel diagnostic methods and subsequent breakthroughs in treatments – all for the benefit of the patient.