Periodontal disease and tooth decay are recognised by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States as the two biggest threats to oral health. Periodontal diseases affect the gums and the jawbone, and in an advanced stage lead to tooth mobility and the loss of teeth. Recent studies by the CDC found that nearly 50 percent of adults aged 30 years and older have some form of the disease, and that more than 70 percent of adults aged 65 years and older have periodontitis.

Professor Thomas F Flemmig is a Clinical Professor of Periodontology and the Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Professor Flemmig earned his dental degree at the University of Freiburg, and received training in Oral Surgery at the University of Hamburg and in Periodontology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a specialist in Periodontology, and holds a Doctorate degree in Medical Dentistry from the University of Freiburg, a Habilitation in Medical Dentistry from the University of Würzburg, and an MBA as well as a certificate in Health Sector Management from Duke University.

Professor Flemmig’s research is on periodontal diseases and the bacterial infections that cause them. He is investigating the control of bacterial biofilms and the economics of oral healthcare. As part of this work, he has introduced enhanced treatments for periodontitis to relieve suffering for patients that have been widely adopted. He and his team are currently working on a project entitled the “Transplantation of a health-associated oral microbiome in the treatment of periodontitis”.

Professor Flemmig joined HKU from the School of Dentistry of the University of Washington in 2014. As Dean of the HKU Faculty of Dentistry, he has been working on the establishment of the Institute of Advanced Dentistry to create a centre of excellence for the management of complex and severe oral conditions. The Institute will provide postgraduate dental education, foster clinical innovation, support translational and
clinical research, and offer continuing dental and professional education to practising dentists and specialists. Under Professor Flemmig’s tenure, the Faculty of Dentistry has been ranked No. 1 in the world two years in a row and is expanding its undergraduate programme by 40 percent over the next five years.

He has been Chairman at the departments of periodontology at the Universities of Würzburg, Münster, and Washington. He has served as an Officer on the Board of the German Society of Periodontology and the Association of Dental Educators, and has been a member of 29 professional associations in Europe and the US. Working extensively with the dental industry, Professor Flemmig has completed 17 industry-funded research projects, and is the inventor of seven patents.

Professor Flemmig was the first dentist to become a member of the Medical Committee of the German Council of Science and Humanities, advising federal and state governments in matters related to medical and dental research, and education. He is on the Editorial Board of several scientific journals and has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology and Guest-Editor of Periodontology 2000.