Building on our strengths

摘要

These are exciting times for research. Although only entering its teenage years, the 21st century has already seen step changes in experimental capabilities. In general terms, within the past year alone, the Higgs boson particle discovery and NASA's Curiosity Rover's precise landing on Mars exemplify the amazing progress which is under way. Advances in capability have opened doors to research areas that previously had seemed well out of our reach. There are many examples in oral and craniofacial research, including the description of the oral metagenome in health and disease, stem cell research, tooth bioengineering, better materials, and better oral care products, to name but a few. In addition, advances in computing speed and power allow us to analyze huge datasets on personal computers. We can now track the long-term outcomes of dental treatment through practice-based research or routine dental service records; the massive scale of these data is no longer a barrier.