Birgitta Söder, professor em., in Odontological prophylaxis at the Karolinska Institutet, Department of Dental Medicine, Huddinge, Sweden and former head of the dental hygiene program. Research activities involve epidemiological and clinical studies of the relationship between dental plaque- oral hygiene, gingival inflammation – periodontitis and systemic diseases, particularly the role of oral infections in cardiovascular diseases and cancer, including systemic makers relating cardiovascular and cancer diseases and periodontitis as well as the role of bacterial interactions. Other research areas of interest are the influence of anxiety and stress-related mental depression on periodontal health as well as tobacco related periodontal diseases. The overall goal is prevention of gingival inflammation and periodontitis. Former President of the International Association for Dental Research: Oral health Research Group and former councillor for International Association for Dental Research and American Dental Association.
Awards:
- 1998 awarded the IADR Oral health Research Group Award
- 2004 IFDH (International Federation for Dental Hygiene), Research award
- 2007 SUNSTAR International Research Award
- 2010 SUNSTAR International Research Award
External research grants
- Scientific collaboration
- Collaborations with other institutions at KI
- Department of Clinical Physiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden.
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Section for Prevention of Personal Injury
- Department of Medicine, and Centre for Molecular Medicine Karolinska University Hospital
International projects
- University of Hong Kong, Prins Philips Hospital Hong Kong, China, Department of Periodontology. Studies on chronic inflammation/infection due to dental plaque, gingival inflammation and periodontal disease as risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature death. Inflammatory mediators and defencins are specially studied and compared with oral clinical data in the study population.
- University of Helsinki, Institute of Dentistry and Biomedicum, Helsinki, Finland. Studies on chronic inflammation/infection due to dental plaque, gingival inflammation and periodontal disease as risk factors for cardiovascular disease, cancer and other systemic diseases with
- inflammatory background. Ongoing studies on micro-organisms and their metabolites from tooth surfaces, periodontal pockets and mouth mucosa enter into the blood stream triggering systemic reactions detrimental to systemic health and hence associate with a number of diseases. We further anticipate that these reactions are different between women and men.
- University of Boston, Boston, USA.
- Epidemiological studies on chronic inflammation in the periodontal tissue related to systemic diseases as well as metaanalysis.
- University of Pisa, Italien
Studies regarding the association between periodontal disease and diabetes
- Chief supervisor or Joint supervisor for doctoral candidates
- Chief supervisor: 2 Doctoral candidates, completed their doctoral theses 2006
- Chief supervisor: 1 Doctoral candidate, completed the theses 2012
- Joint supervisor: 1 Doctoral candidate, completed the doctoral theses, 1999
- Chief supervisor: 2 Doctoral candidates, completed their Licentiat degree, 2003, 2005
- Joint supervisor: 1 Doctoral candidate completed the Licentiate degree, 2005
- Joint supervisor: 2 Doctoral candidate, under education
- Chief supervisor for numerous of bachelors and master students.
- Former member of the editorial board Int J Dental Hygiene,
- Member of Examination Bodies
Many referee duties:
- Involvements in International Association of Dental Research
- Co-author for Dental Hygiene Theory and Practice, edition 3 and 4
- Invited speaker
- Invited speaker both international and national
- Scientific papers in per reviewd journals
- About 70 scientific reports with published abstracts
- About 50 scientific papers published in per reviewed journals