What is your main research topic?
I’m interested in how oral health fits into people’s overall health. Our dental and oral health needs are not one-size-fits-all and can change significantly over a lifetime or if a person has a medical condition.
Can you give us an example?
I have done a lot of work with people living with cystic fibrosis or CF. The CF community had identified that their oral health and the appearance of their teeth were concerns for them, but there was very little evidence of their dental needs. My team at UCC worked with Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, the Irish Cystic Fibrosis Registry and the CF care team at Cork University Hospital. In a project funded by the Health Research Council, we identified that adults with CF are more likely to have problems such as enamel defects, plaque and gum inflammation, and developed educational resources and recommendations for dentists.
What are you working on now?
I look at what happens when a doctor or medical team sends a patient to the dentist to be certified as dentally fit. This can happen when someone is preparing for a hip replacement or heart surgery. But it can be vague. The dentist does not always know exactly what the doctors are asking for. And for the patient there is the cost and the time and the fear that the surgery might be delayed if they don’t have the certificate. I am looking for evidence so that we can improve guidance and reduce the pressure on patients.
How do you find research questions?
I am lucky because the dental hospital here in Cork is co-located on the University Hospital Cork campus. Often, I can meet someone on the coffee dock and talk to them about how dental care could be relevant for their patients. that’s where ideas for research often arise. So far I have managed to work on various projects with the CF unit, the acute stroke ward, dieticians and geriatricians.
Why did you become a dentist?
When I was in my transition year at school, I did work experience in a dental practice. By the end of that week I knew it was what I wanted to do. I just liked the fact that someone could come in with a problem and when they left, it was fixed. So I studied dentistry in Cork and worked in the UK and in Galway. I was then given the opportunity to do a part-time PhD and did my specialist training in restorative dentistry, where you manage complex cases where the dentition is very broken.
[ The good (and bad) habits to start (or stop) for your teethOpens in new window ]
What would you like to see done to improve dental health?
Sometimes in dental research, we may have hot topics like the bacteria that live in the mouth or how we could use stem cells to grow teeth. But we also need to approach the more basic issues, like cavities and tooth decay, and that includes getting the basics right. We haven’t had a national oral health survey in Ireland for around 25 years. This is a time of economic crisis, a pandemic and a cost of living crisis and we need another national survey to get more up-to-date information about oral health in Ireland.
When you are not working as a dentist and researcher and lecturer, what do you like to do?
Relaxation time is focused on family. My husband is also a dentist and we have two young children. We also love to travel as a family.
