Faculty - Oral Health in Children

Meet our Editorial Panel who are the key opinion leaders in the field of oral health in children.  This expert panel in collaboration with the WILEY editorial team has curated the independent educational modules where you can get resources on the latest advancements in research, treatment guidelines, and management of oral health in children.

Sondos Albadri Headshot

Prof. Sondos Albadri

Professor and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, United Kingdom

Professor Sondos Albadri BDS, PhD, MFDS RCS Ed, MPaedDent RCS Eng, FDS (Paed Dent), FHEA graduated from Jordan University of Science and Technology with a BDS and completed her PhD from Queens University Belfast.  She is currently the School of Dentistry Vice Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies.  Professor Albadri’s research is focused on clinical, and patient-reported outcomes.

She has research collaborations in dental trauma, prevention, behaviour change and inflammatory disease in children.  Professor Albadri has published and co-authored many peer-reviewed publications and more recently published a textbook titled “Paediatric Dentistry for the General Dental Practitioner".  She is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons England Faculty in Dental Surgery board and chair of its research committee; she is also a member of the EAPD Educational Committee.  Sondos is the past president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry and currently the Chair of the tri-collegiate membership examination in Paediatric Dentistry.

Vassiliki Benetou Headshot

Prof. Vassiliki Benetou

Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Vassiliki (Vicky) Benetou is Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics of the School of Medicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in Greece.

She is a registered Pediatrician.  She earned a Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health and completed her PhD in Epidemiology at Athens Medical School.  She is teaching epidemiology-research methodology and preventive medicine-public health at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.  She has been actively involved in many multi-centered European and national research projects in the field of epidemiology and public health. She is a member of the National Committee for Nutrition Policy and Associate Editor in the journals Public Health Nutrition and Nutrients and Specialty Chief editor for Adolescent Reproductive Health and Well-being for Frontiers in Reproductive Health. Professor Benetou has contributed to the development of the current Greek dietary guidelines for infants and children, pregnant and lactating women, adults and elderly, as well as to the development of the Greek guidelines for the introduction of solid foods into infants’ diet.

Her research interests are focused on chronic disease epidemiology and nutritional epidemiology as well as public health nutrition issues across the lifespan. She works actively for the protection and promotion of breastfeeding in Greece.

Esti Davidovich Photo

Prof. Esti Davidovich

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Hebrew University and Hadassah School of Medicine

Esti Davidovich is Clinical Associate Professor at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the Hebrew University and Hadassah School of Medicine.  Professor Davidovich graduated from dental school in 2001, completing her residency in 2005 at the Hebrew University Hadassah School of Dental.  She obtained her master's degree at the same institution.  Since 2020, she has held the position of President of the Israeli Society of Paediatric Dentistry. 

She has over 50 publications, comprising of research papers, books and articles.  Her research and clinical interests surround the fields of digital paediatric dentistry, saliva research in medically compromised children, and electric toothbrushes in children.  Over the years, Professor Davidovich has won research grants and prizes. 

Dominique Declerck Photo

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.

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.

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).

Sotiria Gizani Photo

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).

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.

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).

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.

Svante Twetman Photo

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.

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.

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.