Brussels, 15 May 2023. Fostering innovation in the area of digital solutions that contribute to improve gum health for all is the purpose of the EFP Innovation Award for Digital Solutions for Gum Health. The EFP (European Federation of Periodontology, www.efp.org) has announced the winners in France, Switzerland and the UK of the 2023 edition of these prizes, awarded annually with the support of EFP partner Haleon.
First prize was given to "My Perio Care" by Claire Bigot from the Paris Cité University. Her application addresses both patients and dentists’ unmet needs to better manage periodontal care, including everything from from primary prevention to disease therapy. My Perio Care helps oral health professionals diagnose gum disease according to a set of parameters, so they can prescribe the app to their patients in order to provide them with personalised services such as specific care information, oral health education, follow-up of their periodontal parameters, and even tele-consultation if necessary. Throughout treatment, monitoring is personalised and non-intrusive.
Second prize went to the project !my.periodontal-health.com” presented by Christoph Ramseier from the University of Bern. Developed in collaboration with Ukraine- based IT professionals, this tool supports personalised periodontal care and allows clinicians and patients to transfer clinical data from other perio technologies such as www.perio- tools.com. This way, it helps patients to achieve and maintain periodontal stability during supportive periodontal care - for example, they can receive email reminders about upcoming visits to the clinic, or get an estimation of the the healthcare costs that they have saving by regularly attending their appointments.
Third prize was awarded to "Digital technology monitored and controlled oral endotoxin activity levels for personalised primary and secondary prevention of gum diseases and related systemic complications" developed by Svetislav Zaric from the King’s College London. It consisted of two rapid and reliable tests based on oral bacterial endotoxin profile: a subgingival plaque test to be performed by dental professionals for personalised, site-specific management of patient’s gum health conditions, and a salivary self-test for the wider public to be performed at home, for early detection and prevention of gum disease before significant tissue destruction occurs.
“The EFP is happy to reward innovative work to support clinicians, and to boost periodontal health for the benefit of our patients and society at large,” says Andreas Stavropoulos, chair of the EFP scientific affairs committee and past president. “The EFP will continue to support cutting-edge digital technology, with the support of its partner Haleon.”
“Haleon is proud to support its partner the EFP, and this important, growing area of future research for oral health. The EFP Innovation Award for Digital Solutions is in its second year and quality of both entries and winners is outstanding,” adds Dr Steve Mason, Global Medical Lead for Oral Health at Haleon, EFP partner and one of the world's largest providers of specialist oral health.
The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP, www.efp.org) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting awareness of periodontal science and the importance of gum health for oral-health professionals and the public. Its guiding vision is !Periodontal health for a better life”.
Founded in 1991, the EFP is a federation of 38 national periodontal societies representing more than 16,000 periodontists, dentists, researchers, and oral-health professionals in Europe and around the world. It organises events and campaigns grounded in evidence-based science in periodontal and oral health, including EuroPerio (the world’s leading congress in periodontology and implant dentistry), Perio Master Clinic, and Perio Workshop. Gum Health Day, its awareness campaign for the public celebrated annually on 12 May, brings key messages on gum health to millions of people across the world.
The EFP also organises workshops and outreach campaigns with its partners: past projects have covered the relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and caries, as well as women’s oral health during pregnancy.
The extensive list of EFP publications include the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, the research summary JCP Digest, and the online magazine Perio Insight, which offers expert views on periodontal science and clinical practice. The federation’s work in education is also highly significant, notably its accredited university- based programmes for postgraduate education in periodontology and implant dentistry.
