Oral infections – why do they need to be diagnosed and treated?

Dentistry as a profession evolved from the need to treat oral infections – a fact already known thousands of years ago in Ancient Egypt. Since then, research has shown the importance of oral infections not only from the oral health point of view but also regarding systemic health.  Teeth and their supporting tissues enable the entry of thousands of microbes into circulation with subsequent spread all over the body. Oral microbes cause upregulation of cytokines and inflammatory mediators that may cause detrimental effects in many organs. Consequently, statistical associations have been found between periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases but also with many other severe systemic diseases. These include diabetes, rheumatic diseases, kidney and liver diseases, arthritis and arthrosis, and even malignancies. The common nominator in the pathologic reactions involved is a low-grade systemic inflammation caused by oral infections. Diagnosing and treating oral and dental infections is thus mandatory in patients with severe systemic diseases to prevent life-threatening consequences. Similarly, patients submitted for major surgery or immunosuppressive treatment need to avoid dental infections. Maintaining good daily oral hygiene throughout life is the cornerstone of good oral health and in the prevention of complications here discussed.

Prof. Jukka Meurman, PhD

Dr. Meurman is professor emeritus of oral infectious diseases at the University of Helsinki and head physician at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.  He was born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1947, is married to Elisabet Meurman; has two children and three grandchildren. He is the author or co-author of hundreds of peer-reviewed original research publications (PubMed 354; Web of Science 399; Scopus 459; H-index 55), several textbooks and textbook chapters, mainly focusing on the various aspects of oral health and systemic health and in oral microbiology.  Dr. Meurman has also had special interests in probiotics, a new research area he pioneered in the early 1990s, and in Candida infections. He has supervised 30 doctoral theses and lectured extensively in various international forums. Dr. Meurman´s research group has currently 4 registered doctoral students. He has received several honours including the “Echelon Argent” of Ville de Paris, France, in 1991, from President Chirac. In 2004, Dr. Meurman received the title of “Doctor honoris causa” from the Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France. In 2005 he received the “Geriatric Oral Research Award” of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). Dr. Meurman is past-President of the IADR. In 2007 Dr. Meurman was promoted “Doctor honoris causa” in the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, where he also took the position of Adjunct Professor. In 2009 he received “Doctor honoris causa” from the Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Dr. Meurman is member ad hominis of the Royal Society of Surgeons, Edinburgh (FDSRCS). He is an invited member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (ML) and past Chair of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters and President of the Council of Finnish Academies. He is corresponding member of the Spanish Academy of Odontological Sciences. Dr. Meurman has been assessor of research and education in several universities: Dresden, Geneva, Karolinska Institute (Stockholm), Oslo, Amsterdam, Turku, Basel, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, Umeå. He has had many external expert commitments, e.g. in the European Food Safety Authority and the Initiative for Science in Europe, Norwegian Research Council, and the Inter-Academies Partnership (IAP); he was elected as Board Member to the IAP for Health. Dr Meurman is currently in the Advisory Board of the UNESCO Decade of Sciences and Sustainable Development (2023-).