About Oral Epidemiology

Oral Epidemiology is the scientific study of distribution and determinants of oral health and disease  in human populations. It seeks to answer three broad questions:

1. Which population groups experience oral disease and related conditions?
2. What factors contribute to the onset of oral disease?
3. What can be done to improve the oral health of populations?.

Epidemiology provides the scientific evidence needed for public health practice. Together with other health sciences, it provides the basis for understanding the causes of disease and ill-health, and it provides the foundation for development of health policy. Clinical epidemiology, in which patient populations are studied, provides scientific evidence essential for clinical decision-making.

Two illustrations of oral epidemiology at work

Fluoridation of drinking water has been listed among the ten great public health achievements during the twentieth century. (Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999 Apr 2;48(12):241-3).  American oral epidemiologists conducting studies through the first half of the twentieth century discovered the dental health benefits of fluoride in drinking water.  In Australia, fluoride was first added to drinking water in 1953 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania. By the end of that century, two thirds of Australians were living in areas where drinking water contained fluoride. ARCPOH researchers continue to conduct oral epidemiological studies of fluorides and human health.

Shakespeare blamed ageing for deterioration in oral health when he characterised the seventh age of man  “Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything”(W. Shakespeare, “As you Like It. Act II, Scene 7). ARCPOH researchers have shown that ageing is not contributing to complete tooth loss in the Australian population in the twenty first century (Sanders AE, Slade GD, K.D. C, Stewart JF. Trends in prevalence of complete tooth loss among Australians, 1979-2002. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 2004;28(6):549-54.) . Instead, the higher levels of complete tooth loss observed among older Australians can be attributed to epidemic of tooth loss during the first half of the twentieth century. Based on findings from ARCPOH’s 2004-06 National Survey of Adult Oral, the percentage of Australian’s with no natural teeth is projected to reduce to less than 1% by the middle of this century.

Professor of Oral Epidemiology — (Vacancy)

• Courses and Teaching

  Evidence Based Dentistry II

  Oral epidemiology and Data Analysis with SAS

• Postgraduate Education

  Honours Degree

  Master of Science in Dentistry

  Doctor of Philosophy