World Oral Health Day is an annual event held on 20th March, that aims to educate people about the importance of maintaining good oral health. The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Dental Translational Clinical Research Unit (DenTCRU) is raising awareness about the impact of oral health on overall health and promoting current dental research studies across the Trust.
Nuria Navarro Coy, DenTCRU Operations & Strategic Manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said:
World Oral Health Day is a significant event for the Dental Translational Clinical Research Unit (DenTCRU). It offers a worldwide platform to raise awareness about the impact of oral health on overall health and to promote preventive measures. It is also an opportunity to emphasize the importance of translational research in advancing scientific knowledge to improve oral health outcomes and clinical practice.
One of our fundamental research portfolio studies is Rheumatoid Arthritis-Periodontal Proof of Concept (RAP-PoC), an interdisciplinary collaboration across Dentistry and Rheumatology at National Institute of Health Care and Research (NIHR)-Leeds Clinical Research Facility/Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR-LCRF/LBRC). RAP-PoC is investigating periodontal (gum) treatment and oral microbiome in people at risk of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) with an increased prevalence of periodontal disease. The study aims to prevent or delay the onset of RA by delivering non-surgical periodontal therapy in this at-risk group.
One of the major challenges in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the need for prevention and cure methods. However, innovative research in dentistry and rheumatology has provided some insight into the possibility of slowing disease activity. Data and samples collected from participants will be useful to assess the patient acceptability of the ‘RA-Periodontal pathway’ and determine its potential implementation in the National Health Service (NHS) as a preventative measure for people at risk of developing RA. If successful, the RAP-PoC study has the potential to set the foundation for improved preventive strategies in oral and systemic health management.
A member of the Patient Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) group “Smile Aider” at the School of Dentistry said:
I didn’t realise how important treating inflamed bleeding gums was to my RA management; I go to the dentist regularly now.
To find out more about the current research studies at DenTCRU, please visit their website