Research Subject Area: Dentistry

REF impact found 21 Case Studies

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Challenging oral health inequalities through a public health approach to policy

Summary of the impact

The UCL Dental Public Health Group have made a significant contribution to oral health policy in the UK and internationally through their research on oral health inequalities and the need for a reorientation of dental services towards a more evidence based, integrated preventive approach addressing common risks for oral diseases and other chronic conditions. Our work has influenced local national oral health policies and the development of clinical practice guidelines to reduce oral health inequalities and provide the opportunity for dental professionals to prevent both oral and systemic disease.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Dentistry, Public Health and Health Services

Changing national policy on school dental screening. (ICS-10)

Summary of the impact

School dental screening was a statutory function of the NHS. University of Manchester (UoM) research demonstrated that the national screening programme was ineffective and likely to increase inequalities in health and service utilisation. As a direct result of UoM research, the National Screening Committee recommended that the national programme should stop. This changed Departments of Health policy resulting in new guidance to the NHS, which stopped the screening programme and redirected resources to treatment services for vulnerable groups and prevention programmes. In 2010 in England the costs of a national screening programme were estimated to be £17m per year; money released for reallocation to other dental services.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Dentistry, Public Health and Health Services

Childsmile transforms child dental health

Summary of the impact

University of Glasgow researchers have played a pivotal role in developing and evaluating the pioneering Childsmile oral health improvement programme. By the late 1990s, more than 50% of 5-year-olds in Scotland showed evidence of dental decay. Since implementation of Childsmile in 2006, this has decreased to 33% and, within this population dental decay in children from the most severely deprived backgrounds has experienced a striking reduction (from 79% to 55%). In 2011, Childsmile was formally incorporated into the primary care dental contract and subsequently in 2012, into the universal child health surveillance programme in Scotland. Since its introduction Childsmile's community-based, preventive approach has revolutionised dental healthcare from birth for all children up to 12 years of age in Scotland resulting in delivery of Childsmile to over 730,000 children per year.

Submitting Institution

University of Glasgow

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Dentistry, Public Health and Health Services

Commercial products for improved oral health based upon novel antioxidant micronutrient approaches delivered via toothpastes and food capsules

Summary of the impact

Pioneering basic research into the role of oxygen free- radical damage and antioxidant micro-nutrient protection in human periodontal diseases by the Periodontal Research Group in Birmingham has led to the development and marketing of novel toothpaste formulations and new applications for other nutrient products in collaboration with global consumer healthcare companies. This work has changed thinking in the field and has had significant commercial impact in terms of changing business R&D and marketing strategies. Resultant technologies have demonstrated reductions in gingivitis and periodontitis with associated social, economic and health impacts. In addition, our research is enabling Triclosan, an antibacterial compound used widely in soaps, detergents, mouthwashes and toothpastes, to be replaced with more environmentally-friendly, natural and equally efficacious agents.

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Dentistry

CS2 - The development of low-cost point of care sensors for the detection of protease enzymes

Summary of the impact

The spin-out company, Degrasense, has developed and protected intellectual property of technology capable of quantifying specific proteolytic enzymes through changes in electrochemical responses (impedance) at electrodes due to the enzymatic degradation of polymer coatings. The company has detected several specific proteases that are relevant to the monitoring and treatment of a number of conditions including: periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis, haemophilia and hypertension. The technology is currently being validated in a clinical trial as a point of care sensor for the detection of active periodontal disease. Point-of-care sensors provide immediate, low-cost test results in non-laboratory settings, offering a more patient-centred approach to healthcare and earlier detection of disease.

Submitting Institution

Queen Mary, University of London

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Biological Sciences: Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Medical and Health Sciences: Dentistry, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

2 Development of healthcare products using biofilm model systems

Summary of the impact

Industrial collaborators have achieved more efficient and cost-effective routes to market for their oral hygiene and wound healthcare products as a result of UWE in vitro biofilm models based on perfusion flow. These have been used to measure the products' efficacy.

These companies include GABA international, GlaxoSmithKline, Insense Ltd (now Archimed), and Healthcare International.

Healthcare International has developed an oral healthcare product following the use of the UWE models to identify which of several compounds were best suited for this; it has been sold and distributed by Boots International.

Practising dental professionals have been trained by UWE researchers, using insights gained from our research findings, in correct procedures to diagnose and treat breath malodour.

Submitting Institution

University of the West of England, Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Biological Sciences: Microbiology
Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Dentistry

Development of new guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures in patients at risk of infective endocarditis

Summary of the impact

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare but life-threatening disorder that may arise as a consequence of bacteraemia following invasive procedures such as those of dentistry. Research at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute has detailed the dental causes, prevalence and character of bacteraemia following dental procedures and demonstrated that everyday oral health activities are more likely to be a cause of bacteraemia than invasive dentistry. The research outcomes informed 2008 NICE guidelines that recommended that antibiotic prophylaxis solely to prevent IE should not be given to people at risk of IE undergoing dental and non-dental procedures. This has since caused a 78.6% fall in related antibiotic prescribing, a cost-saving of approximately £4m to the NHS in England and will reduce the threats of fatal anaphylaxis and antibiotic resistance.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Dentistry, Public Health and Health Services

Development of periodontal disease predictive technologies and their commercialisation by two SMEs and three multi-nationals

Summary of the impact

Our biomarker research and underpinning technologies have commercially impacted upon the global R&D strategies of Unilever, Philips and Mars, realising new market areas for them, resulting in several million GBP invested in related R&D as well as "claim support" for products both in development and already available on shelves. Unilever have adopted biomarker outcomes as endpoints in clinical trials of new products, and Philips and Mars are developing with us saliva-based near-patient diagnostic tests for the human and small animal markets. We have also spun out two SME's: A) Oral Health Innovations (OHI) Ltd has developed online risk and disease analysis software for oral conditions, which was piloted, adopted and launched by Denplan, the UKs largest dental capitation plan operator (accessing 6500 dentists and 1.8 million patients), at the 2013 annual British Dental Association conference; and B) GFC Diagnostics makes SmokeScreen™ a non-invasive, sensitive and objective saliva test developed from our biomarker research at Birmingham University. Both technologies have already provided demonstrable social and commercial impact and given their uptake to date, will also deliver economic, environmental and health impacts.

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Dentistry, Neurosciences

Development of spin out company OSspray Ltd to investigate treatment of dental hypersensitivity

Summary of the impact

Dental hypersensitivity is a major problem for over half the population in the developed world. Researchers at the Dental Institute of King's College London (KCL) have developed a system to use bioactive glass powders to clean, seal and desensitize teeth, thus alleviating dental pain. As a result, a spinout company — OSspray — was formed in 2004 to develop and commercialise the system for dentists and hygienist to spray-clean teeth. Over £4.5 million of funding has been raised to date from institutional and venture capital investors and three product lines have been launched in the past 24 months. The products developed by the KCL/OSspray team have treated over 700,000 patients across the EU, USA and Asia. The knowledge gained by the KCL-based founders of OSspray has been used to train students in Innovation Technology.

Submitting Institution

King's College London

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Dentistry, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Millions of people worldwide and leading companies benefit from novel approach to developing and evaluating products designed to protect against tooth-wear and dentine hypersensitivity

Summary of the impact

Dentine hypersensitivity manifests as daily, transient, arresting tooth pain in 40% of adults. Pain is caused by toothbrush abrasion and dietary acid erosion, which combine to wear teeth, expose dentine and open dentine tubules.

For 20 years, Bristol's Dental Clinical Trials Unit has worked in partnership with industrial sponsors to develop a dental model to evaluate products designed to protect teeth from erosion and abrasion, and to test whether new toothpastes block dentine tubules, thereby reducing pain from sensitive teeth. This model is used by researchers worldwide and is the "gold standard". New toothpastes launched by GSK, Colgate, Unilever and P&G between 2008 and 2013, tested with the dental model, demonstrably reduce dentine hypersensitivity. These toothpastes are sold in advanced and emerging markets in over 100 countries, with sales of £5bn in 2012.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Dentistry

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