The Departmental research activity and
areas of expertise comprise a wide range and multi-faceted perspectives of
orthodontic research relevant to the constituent academic sections, which
include Cleft clinic, Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics.
The research portfolio of the Department is
extended across areas of clinical, basic and applied interest, for these three
components in biomaterials and bonding, clinical orthodontics, systematic
diseases and oral manifestations, and a developing component of basic research.
The specific topics of the respective
aforementioned research areas include:
- in vivo-ageing and clinical implications
in bonding and mechanotherapy; enamel involvement in orthodontic bonding from
the aspect of alteration in gloss, color, roughness and composition/structure;
development and testing of new adhesives based on non-Bis-GMA containing
monomer systems; release of compounds from polymeric materials in the oral
environment; BPA release and estrogenicity of polymers;
- retention protocols, properties
of retainer materials and trends in retention schemes among clinicians; modern
imaging methods and their accuracy and interpretation; rapid palatal expansion
and associated effects on mandibular arches; aesthetics and dental arch
dimension in treated cleft patients; TAD research and methods to improve their stability;
clinical assessment of oral function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis;
cephalometric assessment of growing individuals and airway; and
- basic research on PDL
properties in tension in health and disease using a cell culture model and
clinically-derived markers of PDL loading during tooth movement in patients
with autoimmune diseases.
The Department maintains
an active collaboration with Universities and research centers in the USA
(Marquette), UK (Manchester), Germany (Bonn), Greece (Athens), and Switzerland
(Bern, Geneva).
