First Chinese student in Plymouth as part of dental partnership

Yan Gao is a masters student from the School of Stomatology at Capital Medical University in Beijing, where she has studied dentistry for five years and orthodontics for one year. Yan’s visit is for six months and she will be working with internationally-renowned stem cell researcher, Bing Hu.

Their research project will focus on better understanding stem cells and their role in craniofacial tissue and bone regeneration – how they are activated, can prevent damage and accelerate wound healing.

There are two targets for the research: the first is to develop a way to accelerate new bone and tooth ligament formation during tooth movement due to orthodontic treatment (especially in children), to reduce the current significant length of clinical treatment and cost.

The second is to understand the mechanism of bone development deformity in children with Crouzon Syndrome (CS), a rare genetic disorder where soft bones in young children’s skulls fuse prematurely (usually there is flexibility to allow for the head and the structures and functions within it to grow).