Participants:
School of Dental Science, The University of Melbourne
Various funding and collaborative parties
Program Leader: Professor Mike Morgan
Objective:
To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of oral health services through a better understanding of the demographics of oral disease.
Although the oral health of Australians has improved significantly over the last few decades, oral disease continues to be widespread, with levels of untreated disease highest amongst people who don’t have private health insurance and who live in rural locations.
Researchers at the Cooperative Research Centre for Oral Health Science are working to identify ways of reducing inequalities in oral health status.
Research projects in this programme draw upon the resources of The University of Melbourne School of Dental Science including the skills of researchers and dental examiners, existing oral health datasets, and a state-of-the-art infrastructure platform. Researchers work collaboratively with public health researchers in Australia and overseas.
Current projects are:
● Surveying and analysing the oral health status of population groups;
● Researching the oral health needs of high-risk groups including older people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds;
● Evaluating the impact of public health strategies such as fluoridation schemes and preventive interventions;
● Examining strategies for developing a dental workforce that can meet the needs of the community.
Also under Program 1, the CRC-OHS hosts a Community Oral Health Symposia Series. These annual symposia present new research on population oral health and consider new strategies for addressing oral health needs in the community.
