Oral Health Research LV

Children's oral health reveals a nation's future. Caries today predicts diabetes tomorrow and cardiovascular disease in twenty years. This progression is preventable at the oral health stage, the moment of maximum impact and minimum cost. Countries prioritizing children's dental care gain immediate returns: children miss fewer school days and learn more effectively, while parents avoid the 3.5 workdays annually lost to managing children's dental emergencies. Long-term savings follow through lower chronic disease burden and healthier populations.  But most importantly, because there is no health without oral health. 

See by yourself below. Do you see a pattern? Countries with lower caries prevalence consistently show higher GDP, better educational outcomes, and lower chronic disease burden. Oral health predicts prosperity.  We work to close this gap equipping clinicians with evidence, providing policymakers with cost-effectiveness data, and deploying technology to reduce the implementation gap.

2008 Potential of Information Technology in Dental Education

Consensus document from the European Association of Dental Education guiding IT integration in dental curricula via e-learning, simulations, and assessments. Led by Nikos Mattheos, with Dr Uribe among contributors. Highlights faculty support needs, open access to quality-reviewed materials, content protection, and Web 2.0's role in global equity via initiatives.

2014 Latvian National Guideline for Fluoride Use

The Fluoride Use Guidelines for Latvia establish national standards for caries prevention. Profs. Ilze Maldupa and Sergio Uribe co-authored this 2014 document endorsed by the Latvian Dental Association. The guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations on water fluoridation, topical fluoride products, and school programs. This document directly influences clinical practice standards and public health policy in Latvia.

2023 National Oral Health Survey (2022-2023)

The SPKC Oral Health Epidemiologic 2022-2023 study surveyed 3,943 Latvian adolescents (ages 12 and 15) examining caries prevalence, severity, and risk factors using WHO protocols. Principal Investigators: Profs. Ilze Maldupa and Sergio Uribe. The study found only 14% of 12-year-olds were caries-free, with D3MFT indices (2.3 at age 12, 4.4 at age 15) exceeding European averages. Strong associations were identified between caries and inadequate fluoride toothpaste use, infrequent brushing, rural residence, and daily sugary drink consumption. This national baseline data informs Ministry of Health policy development, establishes evidence for fluoride standards and sugar reduction initiatives, and guides resource allocation for pediatric dental services across Latvia's regions.

2023 Child Dental Neglect Policy Compendium

The "Child Dental Neglect and Legal Protections" review compiles oral health profiles and policy briefs on child dental neglect legislation across 26 countries and Hong Kong SAR. Profs. Ilze Maldupa and Sergio Uribe were coauthors, providing documentation from Latvia and Chile. The analysis reveals 25/26 countries have general child neglect laws but only 2 specific to dental neglect; while specific laws foster supportive ecosystems to mitigate individual caries risk, they show limited impact on national untreated caries prevalence. It advocates integrating public health, human rights, and efficient criminal justice systems to enhance protections and access to oral healthcare globally.

2023 Artificial Intelligence for Oral and Dental Healthcare: Core Education Curriculum

Consensus curriculum from the IADR e-Oral Health Network and ITU/WHO Focus Group AI for Health defining essential learning outcomes for undergraduate and postgraduate dental AI education. Led by Falk Schwendicke, with Sergio Uribe among authors. Covers four domains—basic AI concepts and machine learning principles, use cases and software setups, evaluation metrics and health impacts, and ethical issues like explainability and governance—to introduce AI into dental curriculum worldwide.

2024 Dr Maldupa, representing Latvia, signed the WHO Bangkok Declaration.

In November 2024, Prof. Ilze Maldupa represented Latvia at the WHO Global Oral Health Meeting in Bangkok, signing the Bangkok Declaration—endorsed by over 100 member states—which asserts "no health without oral health" and promotes integrating essential dental care like fluoride and preventive treatments into primary health systems to reduce inequalities, aligning with Latvia's initiatives on sugar taxes and health education under the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan 2023-2030.

2025 Sugar Taxation Policy Brief

The "Impact of Sugar Consumption on Physical and Mental Health" study provides economic evidence for reducing sugar intake in Latvia (60% adult, 25% child overweight/obesity rates). Co-investigator: Prof. Ilze Maldupa (RSU Institute of Public Health). The research links sugar consumption to caries, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and healthcare costs. Evidence incorporated into Ministry of Health Action Plan 2025-2029, identifying sugar taxation as priority intervention. Status: Legislative consideration for 2026 budget.

2025 FDI World Dental Federation White Paper on Artificial Intelligence for Dentistry 

The FDI World Dental Federation White Paper on Artificial Intelligence for Dentistry establishes global regulatory standards and ethical principles for AI in oral healthcare. Prof  Uribe served on the working group that authored this document, leaded by Prof Schwendicke. The paper addresses data protection, algorithmic bias, clinical safety, and workforce implications. It provides evidence-based recommendations that shape how AI applications are developed, tested, and deployed in dental practice worldwide.

More policy impact

EpiDentLatvia. Mapping the Epidemiological Profile of Oral Health in Latvian Children and Adolescents

E. Uribe, S. (Project leader) & Maldupa, I. (Leading expert)

2/04/25 → 2/04/26

Economic Evaluation for the Implementation of Evidence-Based Paediatric Caries Management Strategies in Latvian Clinical Practice Interventions

Sļepcova, O. (Project leader), Maldupa, I. (Supervisor) & E. Uribe, S. (Supervisor)

2/10/23 → 30/09/27

Project: PhD projects

Health behaviour promoting strategies for the implementation of sustainable oral health care in Latvia

Stāmere, U. (Project leader), Maldupa, I. (Supervisor) & E. Uribe, S. (Supervisor)

2/10/23 → 30/09/27

Project: PhD projects

IEVA: Implementation of the Evidence-Based Paediatric Caries Management Strategies in Latvian Clinical Practice - an Evidence Transfer Study

Maldupa, I. (Project leader), E. Uribe, S. (Work package leader), Innes, N. (Leading expert), Marino, R. (Leading expert), Viduskalne, I. (Expert), Grišakova, J. (Expert), Stars, I. (Expert), Evans, D. (Expert), Stāmere, U. (Assistant (student)), Sļepcova, O. (Assistant (student)), Gostilo, D. (Assistant (student)), Protasa, N. (Assistant (student)) & Vagale, E. (Assistant (student))

Latvian Council of Science

1/01/23 → 31/12/25

Project: Fundamental and Applied Research Programme

New non-invasive treatments for the control and treatment of early childhood caries

Maldupa, I. (Project leader)

European Regional Development Fund, Latvia State Budget funding, Other funding source

1/03/20 → 28/02/23

Project: EU Structural Funds › ERDF

Caries-AI: Diagnostic accuracy of artificial intelligence systems for radiographic caries detection and high-quality dataset of annotated radiographs

E. Uribe, S. (Project leader), Radziņš, O. (Expert) & Maldupa, I. (Leading expert)

Riga Stradins University

26/07/21 → 25/07/22

Project: RSU grants

Impact of COVID-19 on health care system and public health in Latvia; ways in preparing health sector for future epidemics

Ķīvīte-Urtāne, A. (Project leader), E. Uribe, S. (Expert), Maldupa, I. (Leading expert),  et al. 

Latvian Council of Science

1/07/20 → 31/03/21

Project: National Research Programme

We share our research datasets openly to support transparency, reproducibility, and new discoveries in oral health.

In RSU Dataverse

Maldupa

Uribe

In ZENODO

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15825108 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13208598 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13200856 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11507289 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10605383 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8074534 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7677435 

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6460190 

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