Maria Anderson

I am a Senior Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at the Folktandvården Eastman Institute in Stockholm and affiliated with research at Karolinska Institutet, Department of Dental Medicine, Division of Paediatric Dentistry. As Director of the Center for pediatric Oral Health Research (ABC) I lead regional knowledge development initiatives that integrate clinical practice, research, and education. I have also played a central role in the development of MediPrepDental the dental section of the national MediPrep platform that provides age‑appropriate digital information to prepare children for dental care.

My research focuses on caries development, prevention, and equitable oral health among children and adolescents, with the overarching aim of ensuring that early interventions contribute to happy children with healthy smiles. In my doctoral project, Stop Caries Stockholm, one of Sweden’s largest caries studies including more than 3, 400 children, we demonstrated that additional fluoride varnish applications do not improve caries‑preventive outcomes beyond those achieved by the standard programme. The study also identified significant risk factors such as immigrant background, family income, and early dietary patterns. In addition to my preventive research, I am the principal investigator of the SELECT study, a clinical trial evaluating treatment strategies for deep caries in young permanent teeth. My broader research interest lies in assessing and developing effective, sustainable, and evidence‑based methods that support children in achieving good oral health throughout their growth and development.

 I have held overall responsibility for the specialist training in paediatric dentistry at the Eastman Institute, where I supervise future specialists in both clinical and academic components. In addition, I have for an extended period contributed to the training of child health services (BVC) personnel in the Stockholm Region. Beyond these assignments, I participate in several development and educational projects and am actively involved in teaching and supervision related to degree projects as well as postgraduate education, including doctoral students.