Launch of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology Journal's Special Issue on Singapore Oral Health

Celebrating Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 50th Anniversary Year
Professor Sarah R Baker, Editor-in-Chief, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology

Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology is the leading international journal within the field of oral epidemiology, community dentistry, social and behavioural sciences in dentistry, and dental services research. The journal publishes novel and high-quality research including original research papers, critical review articles and commentaries. The journal is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2023. This presentation by the Editor-in-Chief will outline the mission, scope, values and approach of the journal. It will provide an overview of its research themes, trending topics and leading contributions over its 50 year history. The presentation will conclude with the launch of the Special Issue on Singapore Oral Health entitled 'From 3rd to 1st world in 50 years - Population oral health in an emerging nation'.

 

Pearlie White Presents: Development of Defenze Mouth Rinse Targeting SARS-CoV-2 in Saliva: The Journey

[Speakers]
Mr Andy Ong, Marketing Director, PearlieWhite
A/Prof Jaya Seneviratne (University of Queensland)

The emergence of the highly infectious novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, first reported on December 31, 2019, subsequently led to the global COVID-19 pandemic. To date, nearly 700 million people have contracted SARS-CoV-2, and over seven million have tragically lost their lives. The pandemic reached its peak in 2020 and 2021, challenging healthcare systems worldwide with a rapid surge in morbidity and mortality. In Singapore, one of the hotspots during this period was the dormitories housing foreign workers. To control the spread of COVID-19, temporary medical care facilities were established within these dormitories. This extensive operation received support from multiple government agencies, including the National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS). Within this large-scale effort, NDCS staff collaborated across various professional backgrounds, including clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, radiographers, and medical social workers. Dr. Jaya Seneviratne volunteered for this medical engagement, providing him with real-time experience in infection control.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission routes include indirect contact with contaminated surfaces and direct exposure to infectious respiratory and salivary droplets, as well as aerosols. COVID-19-positive patients can have high viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 in their saliva. The practice of dentistry was significantly affected during this period due to concerns about disease transmission. The CDC's Interim Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Dental Settings suggested that pre-procedural mouth rinses may reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral loads or prevent transmission. In response, Dr. Seneviratne led a team in conducting the world's first randomized clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of commercial mouth rinses in reducing salivary SARS-CoV-2 levels in COVID-19 patients. The results indicated that specific formulations could be useful as pre-procedural mouth rinses to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19. This discovery significantly increased commercial interest in this area. In collaboration with Corlison, a Singapore-based oral healthcare industrial partner, the NDCS research team developed a new mouth rinse "Defenze", targeting salivary SARS CoV-2. This presentation will highlight the twists and turns encountered during this journey, leading to a successful clinical-industrial partnership to produce a product of clinical relevance for the public.

 

Plenary Lecture: Achieving Universal Oral Health Coverage for All
Prof Marco Peres, Deputy CEO Research & Education, National Dental Centre, Singapore

This talk will provide core concepts about health as a human right, the characteristics of dental care universally showing evidence on the leading causes of (oral) diseases and deaths. While Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is fundamental to ensure basic human rights, it is not enough to act on the most distal determinants of oral diseases. Moreover, UHC must adopt an approach that differs from mainstream dental care in managing diseases guided by evidence-based health care. The existing evidence about the impact of upstream and downstream interventions to tackle oral diseases will be critically presented. Finally, an innovative approach to prevent oral diseases and associated socioeconomic inequalities will be discussed.

 

Microbiome Modulation and Fluoride Activation by a Saliva Biomimetic Promotes Oral Health
Laureate Prof Eric C. Reynolds, Centre for Oral Health Research, Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Saliva is essential to maintain oral homeostasis and fluoride is the cornerstone of reducing the risk of caries, erosion and hypersensitivity through remineralisation of enamel and dentine. However, the fluoride-driven process of remineralisation becomes calcium-limited as a molar excess of calcium is required to form enamel and dentine mineral. A saliva biomimetic derived from bovine milk, designated casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) delivers bioavailable calcium, phosphate, and fluoride ions in the correct molar ratio to enhance the formation of fluorapatite in enamel and dentine. The CPP-ACP technology is in a variety of oral care products that have been shown to remineralise and regress early stages of enamel and dentine demineralisation. Recently CPP-ACP has been shown to interact synergistically with stannous fluoride (SnF2) to stabilise and enhance delivery of stannous ions (Sn2+) and fluoride ions to produce a superior remineralisation system for both enamel and dentine. CPP-ACP has also been shown to increase the level of plaque commensal/beneficial bacteria, reduce Gram-negative species and significantly reduce periodontal disease in a dose-dependent manner. The change in microbial composition could be represented by a Plaque Eubiotic Index (PEI) which was inversely associated with inflammation at a site, with high PEI being present at sites with no inflammation. This reduction in inflammation at a site level was closely associated with an increase in commensal species known to be antagonistic to the periodontal pathogens and known to suppress inflammation and induce mucosal tolerance. The mechanism of the saliva biomimetic CPP-ACP modulating plaque microbial composition was related to its ability to increase the fitness of the commensal/beneficial bacteria which improve mucosal homeostasis and oral health. In conclusion, CPP-ACP products can be used in a systems approach to promote oral homeostasis and help manage the risk of oral disease.

 

Plenary Lecture: Beyond Nature and Science - the Journey of Bringing 3D Printed Scaffold in Engineering Bone Enterprise to IPO
Prof Teoh Swee Hin, Director, Centre for Advanced Medical Engineering; Changjiang Chair Professor, Yuelu Academy, People's Republic of China

A young PHD graduate pondered 25 yrs ago on his career and asked what is beyond a Nature and Science publication. This paper chase seems meaningless and certainly with his present training the dream of a Nobel Laureate Award seemed remote. This graduate is a reflection of the soul of many graduates today. We wanted significance and address societal impact. By focusing not on the biology but engineering, the present talk is about Entrepreneurship in 3D Printed Scaffolds in Engineering Bone and the many breakthroughs in saving lives while working closely with clinicians. It described the partnership between engineers, clinicians, marketing specialists in medical devices and private investors. The talk will highlight some key clinical breakthroughs and key ingredients such as engineering technology in 3D printing, financial and law, branding strategies, regulatory compliance and humility in entrepreneurship.

 

Unilever Presents: Understanding and managing the dental caries challenge in South East Asia
[Moderator] A/Prof Armelia Sari Widyarman, Trisakti University

[Speakers]
Kartik Chandrasekhar, Global Head of Oral Care, Unilever
Cl A/Prof Christina Sim, NDCS
Dr Iwan Dewanto, DDS , MMR, PhD. Faculty of Dentistry, University Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta; & Chief Lead, WHO Indonesia, National Action Oral Health Plan Project, Indonesia
Prof Hoang Trong Hung, University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Prof May Chun Mei Wong, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong

Despite advances in recent decades in the areas of technology, digital, and healthcare, caries rates remain stubbornly high across the world including Southeast Asia. The highest burden of oral disease in Southeast Asia stems from untreated caries.*
This Pepsodent sponsored panel discussion will bring together some of the region's leading experts to discuss the reasons for the high prevalence and the challenges in reducing the incidence of dental caries in this region.
The discussion will major on practical everyday solutions and interventions to reducing caries rates and the important role to be played by both dentists and Oral Care industry.
*Action plan for oral health in South-East Asia 2022-2030: towards universal health coverage for oral health ISBN/Document no. 978-92-9-021006-1 © World Health Organization 2022

 

Preview of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology Journal's Special Issue on Singapore Oral Health
Celebrating Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 50th Anniversary Year
Professor Sarah R Baker, Editor-in-Chief, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology

Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology is the leading international journal within the field of oral epidemiology, community dentistry, social and behavioural sciences in dentistry, and dental services research. The journal publishes novel and high-quality research including original research papers, critical review articles and commentaries. The journal is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2023. This presentation by the Editor-in-Chief will outline the mission, scope, values and approach of the journal. It will provide an overview of its research themes, trending topics and leading contributions over its 50 year history. The presentation will conclude with the launch of the Special Issue on Singapore Oral Health entitled 'From 3rd to 1st world in 50 years - Population oral health in an emerging nation'.

 

Plenary Lecture: Evolutions in Global Health - what does it mean for oral health?
Prof Paul Pronyk, Director, Duke-NUS Center for Outbreak Preparedness (COP); Deputy Director, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute

Global health has evolved substantially over the past several decades. From its inception as a discipline focused on tropical infectious disease, it has transformed into a new field which is now squarely focused on partnerships - and how countries can work together to address complex challenges across a spectrum of communicable and non-communicable diseases, with an emphasis on building equitable and sustainable systems. This session will explore these shifts and the reasons behind them, examining opportunities and implications for emerging areas of global oral health.