Prof. Christina Erbe
Director and Head of Department of Dentofacial Orthopedics & Orthodontics, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg – University of Mainz
Prof. Christina Erbe obtained her license for dental practice after studying human medicine and dentistry at the Justus-Liebig University of Giessen. She specializes in dentistry, orthodontics, and pain therapy in the jaw and face region.  Â
Prof. Erbe has made significant contributions to her field, with her research focusing on various aspects of orthodontics, especially with aligner therapy in adolescent and adult patients as well as interdisciplinary treatment, especially concerning the cooperation with oral and maxillofacial surgery, prosthodontics and periodontology. She holds a certificate for advanced training in pain therapy in the maxillofacial region from the Academy for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the German Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.Â
Prof. Erbe is the Director and Head of Department of Orthodontics, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg – University, MainzÂ
Prof. Dominique Declerck
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Head of Population Studies in Oral Health, University of Leuven, Belgium
Dominique Declerck is full professor at KU Leuven (University of Leuven, Belgium) where she is responsible for the undergraduate teaching in preventive & public health dentistry, pediatric dentistry and special care to dental trainees. She coordinates the postgraduate training program in Pediatric Dentistry & Special Dental Care. Within the University Hospitals Leuven, she provides dental treatment to children, patients with disabilities and medically compromised patients, with a primary focus on preventive aspects.Â
Professor Declerck's research activities focus on the epidemiology of oral diseases, with specific emphasis on caries experience in children, including several large-scale surveys and oral health promotion intervention studies in Flanders. Currently, she coordinates the nation-wide ‘Oral Health Data Registration and Evaluation Survey’ (OHDRES), commissioned by the Belgian National Institute for Disability and Health Insurance, in collaboration with other Belgian universities and with the Scientific Institute of Public Health.Â
She is (co)-author to more than 150 peer-reviewed international papers. She is an elected member of the Belgian Royal College of Medicine since 2006, Past-President and founding member of the Belgian Academy for Paediatric Dentistry (BAPD), Past-President of the European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH) and President of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD)(2022-2024).Â
Dr. Gitana Rederiene
President, European Dental Hygienists Federation, Dental Hygienist, President, Lithuanian Dental Hygienists Association
Dr. Gitana Rederiene completed her Dental Hygiene and Public Health studies at Lithuanian Health Science University in Kaunas and carried out her doctoral thesis at Vilnius University Medical Faculty. Her main research topic is the empowerment of the professional group of dental hygienists and clarifying their role in shaping the oral health policy.Â
Gitana has presented numerous poster presentations at various international conferences and is an author of scientific and popular articles. She is a practising dental hygienist at the University clinic and regularly holds courses and lectures for continuing education on various topics nationally and internationally. Dr. Gitana Rederiene is a member of the European Association of Dental Public Health, as well as a member of the Advisory Board at the European Forum for Primary Care. She is a board member of the Odontology faculty of Lithuanian Health Science University and a consultant for a few dental hygiene programs in Lithuania.Â
Dr. Gitana Rederiene is the President of the European Dental Hygienists Federation and President of the Lithuanian Dental Hygienists Association.Â
Prof. Sotiria Gizani
Assoc. Prof & Chair, Dept. Paediatric Dentistry, Vice Dean, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens-Greece, General Secretary of European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD)
Sotiria Gizani obtained her dental degree from the University of Thessaloniki and then completed her 6-year postgraduate studies in Paediatric Dentistry at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium), including the degrees of Master in Dental Sciences and Doctorate (PhD).Â
Since 1998, she has been working at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), where she is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the Department as well as Director of the Postgraduate Program, one of the eight EAPD accredited postgraduate programs in Europe. Professor Gizani is currently the Vice Dean of the School of Dentistry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is also the General Secretary of EAPD. She is teaching in the Dental Postgraduate program of the University of Giessen in Germany and Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium) where she has been appointed as Visiting Professor.Â
Professor Gizani has published more than 70 papers in peer-reviewed journals, received international awards and lectured in many international and national scientific conferences. She is also member of the Editorial Board of the Journal European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry and Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry as well as being part of the Advisory Board of Oralprophylaxe & Kinderzahnheilkunde (Springer).Â
Her research interests focus mainly on clinical trials, regarding prevention and management of caries in young children, oral health care of patients with special needs and vulnerable children as well as communication and behavior management in the dental setting.Â
Prof. Svante Twetman
Emeritus Professor in the Department of Odontology (School of Dentistry), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Svante Twetman is Professor of Cariology and specialist consultant in pediatric dentistry. He has a long track record in dental research throughout his career with a focus on the role of the oral/dental biofilm in health and disease, risk assessment and caries prevention, in particular among children and adolescents.Â
His most recent research deals with biofilm control through pre- and probiotic supplements for the prevention and maintenance of oral health. Over the years, Professor Twetman has combined clinical trials with explorative studies in the laboratory. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed papers and contributed to numerous textbooks. He is currently chairing the Scientific Board of the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services and is actively involved in evidence-based care and mapping of knowledge gaps.Â
Among several international awards, he received the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in 2010, the IADR Borrow Award in 2011 and the national Miller prize in 2021.Â