WHO Collaborating Center for Oral Infectious Diseases: Education, Research, and Care

The vision for the Center grew out of the increasing number of requests from faculty and practitioners of dental institutions from within and outside the United States for training in the oral care of individuals with infectious diseases, primarily HIV. Among its aims are to conduct research in the prevention, detection, and care of infectious diseases that are manifested in the oral cavity or elsewhere in the body as a result of oral infection. Its activities will include education of oral and other health care providers in the management of patients with oral infectious diseases, related basic science and clinical research, and research in the prevention, detection and care of oral infectious diseases.

The School of Dental Medicine is fully equipped in personnel expertise, educational and clinical resources, and physical facilities to implement the terms of reference for the Center. The Office of International Relations, the school unit that acts as the WHO Collaborating Center, conducts active exchange programs and networks with various dental schools and institutions in the Americas, Asia and Pacific, Europe and Africa. Different departments within the School conduct various basic science and clinical research. Education and training programs are offered to oral and other health care providers in the care of patients with oral manifestations of infectious diseases through the school clinical facilities, notably the Infectious Disease Clinic. Faculty and staff in the Center's Steering Committee possess expertise that could be shared globally through educational and training programs or through meetings, conferences or consultations.

The Center will play a strategic role in the accomplishment of the Pan American Health Organization's goals for oral health in the region, especially related to the burden of oral diseases. The Center will also participate in the overall Uiversity of Pennsylvania ongoing health project in Botswana.