Subject Award · Health & Medicine · 2026
The ten finalist universities are the ten highest-ranked on the Dentistry collaboration index, listed here alphabetically until the full index publishes on 15 September. Each finalist is represented by an academic whose recent work exemplifies why: a real project, drawn from the open scholarly record, cited so you can check it.
The finalists
Gum disease and metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that raises cardiovascular risk and doubles the risk of type 2 diabetes, turn out to be closely linked. Reviewing the evidence, the work shows most studies point to an association in which periodontitis can contribute to or worsen metabolic syndrome, and examines the roles of lipids, inflammatory cytokines and the salivary microbiome.
Mapping every tooth in a three-dimensional scan by hand is slow, painstaking work. The project examines the use of artificial intelligence to segment individual teeth in three dimensions from cone-beam computed tomography scans, with the aim of making this imaging task both fast and accurate.
Layered deep learning for automatic mandibular segmentation in cone-beam computed tomography
The project applies layered deep learning to automatically segment the mandible, the lower jawbone, in cone-beam computed tomography scans. By automating this delineation task, the work explores how artificial intelligence can support the analysis of three-dimensional imaging used in dental care.
Artificial intelligence applications in implant dentistry: A systematic review
How well do artificial intelligence models actually perform in implant dentistry? Searching five databases, the team systematically reviewed studies that use AI for recognising implant types, predicting implant success from patient risk factors, and optimising implant design in combination with finite element analysis, documenting a fast-growing area that had not previously been systematically analysed.
Printing dental parts in resin involves far more than pressing a button. This narrative review addresses vat-polymerisation additive manufacturing technologies, covering the printing parameters, supporting structures, slicing choices and post-processing procedures involved in producing a finished part, and drawing the stages of the workflow together in one place.
Denture bases can now be milled or 3D printed rather than made by traditional heat polymerisation, but how do the newer materials compare? Testing all three approaches in the laboratory, the study measured flexural properties and surface roughness and examined how readily bacteria and Candida adhere to each type of PMMA denture-base resin.
Could a digitally made denture serve patients as well as a conventionally made one? Synthesising seventy-three studies, the review compares CAD-CAM milled and 3D-printed complete dentures with conventionally constructed ones across trueness of fit, biocompatibility, mechanical and surface properties, colour stability, time and cost, and clinical and patient-reported outcomes.
Silver diamine fluoride therapy for dental care
A single low-cost liquid can arrest tooth decay without drilling. The work reviews silver diamine fluoride therapy, explaining how silver inhibits cariogenic biofilm while fluoride promotes remineralisation, and describing its uses from controlling early childhood caries and arresting root caries to desensitising hypersensitive teeth, alongside its known limitations for the dental pulp.
Alveolar ridge preservation: Complications and cost‐effectiveness
After a tooth extraction, procedures to preserve the jaw ridge are routinely used in clinical practice, yet their complications and value for money have received far less attention than their efficacy. The study assesses the complications associated with different preservation approaches and models their cost-effectiveness, concluding that spending more on certain bone graft materials does not translate into greater effectiveness.
Temporary crowns and bridges are increasingly 3D printed, so their materials deserve close scrutiny. Comparing three commercially available printing resins with an experimental resin intended for definitive prostheses, the study characterised mechanical and biological properties using methods from biaxial flexural testing and finite element analysis to cell proliferation and cytotoxicity assays.
Exclusive to partners
Partners verify their data, feature their academics, and are eligible for the Subject Awards. Finalists are identified from open data; winners are decided by our editorial team and announced on 15 September 2026.
Explore partnership →The wider slate
The perception of COVID-19 among Italian dental patients: an orthodontic point of view
Peri‐implantitis: Summary and consensus statements of group 3. The 6th EAO Consensus Conference 2021
Pathogenesis of periodontitis - A potential role for epithelial-mesenchymal transition