Oro-Maxillofacial Health and Epidemiology

A joint research with other 3 research groups of the department will be supported. Research cooperation with the department of Community Medicine and the other departments of UiT in general is important.

Plan for the development/maintenance of national collaboration

There are two other dental schools in Norway, in Oslo and in Bergen. Both of these have much more manpower and better fiscal resources than our department. Historically Oslo and Bergen have been against of the establishment of a dental education in Tromsø over decades. After the political decision, some cooperation has been established, but very slowly. The national cooperation in dental research should be increased and strengthened.

 Plan for the development/maintenance of international collaboration

Research cooperation between the Nordic countries and with the EU is important. Development cooperation in health research in developing countries has also traditionally been a priority in the Nordic countries, which all aim to follow the United Nations’s recommendation to invest 0.4% of the annual GNP on the development cooperation. Cooperation in the Barents region has an emphasis in our dental school, because the geography will never change and the researchers have the responsibility on the oral health of the population in this northern region of the globe. There are drastic contrasts in the living standards between Norway/EU and Russia. The Nordic policy on equality, protection of the environment, quality of life should be guidelines of this research group. Network for oral health research and education should be established between the most northern dental schools in Norway (Tromsø), Finland (Oulu), Iceland (Reykjavik), Denmark (Copenhagen, responsible for Greenland), Sweden (Umeå), Russia (Arkhangelsk), USA  (Anchorage), and Canada (Toronto).