Falk Schwendicke appointed Head of new dental department
On 1 January 2021, Prof. Dr. Falk Schwendicke took up his new position as W3-Professor for Oral Diagnostics, Digital Health and Health Services Research at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. As part of his new role, he will head a newly created department within the CharitéCenter for Dental, Oral and Maxillary Medicine (CC3). The department’s aim is to make artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as machine vision available for use in dentistry, with the objective of further enhancing treatment.
An expert in the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry and integrative health services research, Prof. Schwendicke joined Charité as a Senior Physician in 2013. He was appointed Deputy Head of the CC3’s Department of Operative and Preventive Dentistry in 2015, a role which enabled him to establish digital dentistry as a new form of data-led and evidence-based dentistry at Charité.
His newly created professorship and appointment as Head of the Department of Oral Diagnostics, Digital Health and Health Service Research will enable the 38-year-old to shape the new department’s research and teaching. In addition to the department’s key specialisms, it is responsible for teaching dental students regarding treatment planning, the management of pain and acute dental problems, dental radiography, epidemiology, evidence-based medicine, and health economics. A single department comprising this range of subject areas is unique in Germany. Similarly unique is the department’s research focus in the areas of artificial intelligence in dentistry, data-driven precision dental medicine and integrative health services research. Machine vision in particular has the potential to revolutionize medical imaging and benefit patients by enabling us to better understand and analyze dentistry data for use in predictive modeling.
Through his involvement in international research (including his collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO)), Prof. Schwendicke aims to establish AI-based applications as an integral part of diagnostics and treatment. Thanks to his strong publication record, he has also established himself as an influential figure within the professional community. According to Stanford University’s current citation index rankings for last year, Prof. Schwendicke was one of the most-cited dental experts globally and the most-cited dental expert from Germany.
“I look forward to the challenge of exploring new horizons within the field of dentistry here at Charité. In my view, the department’s new organizational structure and research interests represent a real opportunity for us to create new impetus within the areas of teaching and patient care,” says Prof. Schwendicke. He adds: “Our research is already on a fantastic trajectory. In addition to our international collaborations, the use of AI and Big Data within the fields of diagnostics and health services research gives me great cause for optimism. We are working to create the future of dentistry!”
Short bio
Falk Schwendicke completed his dentistry studies at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (2003 to 2008), obtaining his doctoral degree in 2009. After working in private practice in the United Kingdom and as a research fellow at Kiel University (CAU), he joined Charité as a Senior Physician in 2013, working in the Department of Operative and Preventive Dentistry (CC3), of which he became Deputy Head in 2015. Following his habilitation (a postdoctoral teaching qualification) in 2015, he underwent further training in higher education teaching, completed a Master’s degree in Dental Public Health (MDPH) at the University of Manchester, and specialized in restorative dentistry. Prof. Schwendicke also gained extensive experience through his work on numerous committees, including the ‘Artificial Intelligence in Dental Medicine’ working group (AK AIDM) and the ITU/WHO focus group on AI for Health (AI4Health). In addition to being a member of the Advisory Board of the ‘Stiftung Gesundheitswesen’ foundation, he also served as Spokesperson and Head of the Dentistry Division of the German Network for Evidence-based Medicine (DNEbM), Vice President of ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für orale Epidemiologe und Versorgungsforschung’ (the German association for oral epidemiology and health services research), and on the editorial boards of various specialist dental journals.
Links
Head of the Department of Oral Diagnostics, Digital Health and Health Services Research
Contact
Prof. Dr. Falk Schwendicke
Head of the Department of Oral Diagnostics, Digital Health and Health Services Research
Institute of Dental, Oral and Maxillary Medicine
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Tel: +49 30 450 662 556
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