Prof. Moritz Kebschull is the new EFP president

European Federation of Periodontology

Sun. 28. April 2024

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BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) has announced Prof. Moritz Kebschull as its new president. He succeeds Dr Darko Božić from the University of Zagreb in Croatia. A non-profit federation of 38 national societies for periodontics, the EFP, in addition to its European core, has member societies in countries such as Argentina and Australia and a global agenda to promote the awareness of periodontics and the importance of periodontal health.

Prof. Kebschull holds the position of chair of restorative dentistry at the University of Birmingham in the UK and is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University in New York in the US. He is a periodontist trained in Germany and the US, and his award-winning translational research explores the links between the clinical features and molecular foundations of periodontal and peri-implant disease and other systemic diseases. At the University of Birmingham, he is running a significant portfolio of externally funded research programmes. He is also leading a module for the National Institute for Health and Care Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre.

In 2021, Prof. Moritz Kebschull was elected to the executive committee of the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP). Over the last five years, he has held various positions on the board and will now take over the presidency of the EFP at the end of his term of office. (Image: EFP)

Having served on the boards of both the British and the German national periodontic societies and, for the last three years, as a member of the EFP’s executive committee, Prof. Kebschull has been driving the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of periodontal disease in Europe, the UK and Germany.

Prof. Kebschull’s priority during his presidency will be to further the EFP’s global impact as the largest periodontic federation worldwide by expanding its lead in guideline development in the field of dentistry, by opening pathways for educating the clinical workforce for periodontics and by driving periodontal science by empowering young, internationally mobile researchers.

The EFP is at the forefront of the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in dentistry worldwide and can demonstrate that these guidelines have already had measurable real-world impact for patients and practitioners alike in several major economies. Prof. Kebschull and the EFP team will add to the existing portfolio of guidelines to fully cover the entire field of periodontics and focus on the national implementation of these guidelines across the EFP’s global membership to further the impact for patients.

To fully facilitate the opportunities opened up by the guidelines, the EFP recognises that, in addition to a strengthened undergraduate curriculum and its prestigious specialist-level educational programmes, a third pillar of education is necessary to develop a clinical workforce that can treat the very significant number of patients with periodontal disease—one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases. Specifically, as outlined in an upcoming special issue of the EFP’s Journal of Clinical Periodontology, the EFP will strengthen vocational education and training in Europe, a process of flexible lifelong learning for professionals following the principles of the Bruges–Copenhagen Process that is envisioned to lead to a high number of dental professionals with significant additional skills.

Lastly, Prof. Kebschull recognises that, in order to further drive clinical impact, the promotion of high-quality research is an absolute necessity. He therefore proposes to strengthen this by fostering the international mobility of promising young periodontal researchers from all EFP member countries to further collaboration and fruitful interactions.

“To keep improving periodontal education for students and professionals and stimulating the progress of periodontal researchers is not only in the interest of the EFP or the dental profession,” explained Prof. Kebschull. “These advancements are critical for the sake of periodontal science and practice so that current and future dental patients will be better served. I’m also honoured to serve the EFP as president and to help advance preparations for future milestones, including EuroPerio11 in Vienna in May 2025.”