Prof. Dr. med. dent. habil. Christian H. Splieth is an internationally recognised expert in preventive and paediatric dentistry with extensive experience in academic leadership, research, and public dental health programmes. He received his dental education at the Schools of Dentistry at the University of Göttingen (Germany), Leeds (UK), and Minnesota (USA). In 2000, he completed his PhD and Habilitation on “Caries prevalence, risk assessment and risk-specific prevention in children” and was recognised as a Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry by the German Society for Paediatric Dentistry.
Academic Career
Since 2000, Splieth has led the Community Dental Services in Greifswald. From April 2004 he headed the Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Prevention at the University of Kiel, and since December 2004 he has been Head of the Department of Preventive and Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Greifswald. Between 2022 and 2024 he additionally served as Interim Head of the Department of Restorative Dentistry, Periodontology and Endodontology in Greifswald. From 2021 to 2026 he holds a Guest Professorship in Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Leadership & Professional Engagement
Splieth served as President of the German Association for Paediatric Dentistry (2013–2015) and as Co-President of ORCA in 2014. Between 2017 and 2023 he successively held the roles of Vice-President, President, and Past-President of the Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA).
Research Interests
His core areas of expertise include paediatric dentistry, cariology, epidemiology, caries prevention, community dentistry, and health economics. Throughout his career he has actively contributed to the advancement of preventive programmes and dental public health policy at both European and international levels.
Tackling caries in a community setting in the future
Many countries have experienced a caries decline over the last decades through measures aiming at a population level. Now caries research has to establish and validate strategies remaining population groups which do not profit from the caries reductions.