Swedish university receives funding for holistic dentistry

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 2. July 2025

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MALMÖ, Sweden: A forward thinking, transdisciplinary oral health research hub at Malmö University has received a welcome funding injection from Swiss-based funder the Knowledge Foundation. The substantial grant will allow the group to continue and expand its research profile, which champions a multi-dimensional, all-embracing approach to oral health.

Housed within the university’s Faculty of Odontology, the research group Advancing Oral Health is dedicated to improving public oral health through undertaking research and fostering cross-industry partnerships that productively synthesise a wide range of dental-related knowledge. Through acknowledging the inextricable relationship between dental health and issues like sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI) and systemic health, to name a few, the research hub seeks to develop an understanding and practice of oral health that is well-rounded and robust. The Knowledge Foundation grant, which is to the value of 48 million SEK (€4,3 million^*), will be distributed over eight years, and will allow the group to accelerate and expand this important research profile.

Speaking in a university press release on the landmark accomplishment, Prof. Per Alstergren, dean of the Faculty of Odontology, remarked: “By integrating oral and general health together with a sustainability perspective, we can increase equality in healthcare, with great potential to advance, for example, eHealth.”

Echoing these thoughts, Prof. Mia Rönnmar, vice-chancellor of the university stated: “I am delighted with this fine recognition of the university’s oral health research, which has a long tradition. Now we have fantastic opportunities to develop innovative research in co-production with industry and dentistry to contribute to oral health and societal benefits.”

The dental industry continues to embrace increasingly holistic approaches to oral health that place dentistry as the central node in an interconnected network of environmental, genetic and cultural factors. In this context, this grant—and the research it stands to generate—are likely to benefit the profession for many years to come.

Editorial note:

^* Calculated on the OANDA platform for 30 June 2025.