DrHanako Suenaga

Perioperative dentistry:

Her primary research over the past 6years focuses on understanding associations between oral and general health in general surgery patients, specifically looking at post-surgical complications like infections. She has established this research at Westmead Hospital bringing together an international multidisciplinary team of oral microbiologists, clinical academics in dentistry and medicine. Currently she leads a team investigating the relationships between the oral bacteria (microbiome) and surgical outcomes. Her research goal is translational, to develop a preoperative dental care protocol to positively impact surgical outcomes including patient QoL, reduced burden on the health system and lower cost of care.

Bone mechanobiology:

She has also developed strong collaborative research networks with Engineering and Medical researchers with focus of biomechanics and mechanobiological reactions in jawbone. Her team has revealed the impact of removable partial denture design on pressure distribution beneath the denture base. By using NaF positron emission tomography (PET), she has demonstrated change in bone metabolism beneath the denture base due to mechanical loading. With NaF-PET and finite element analysis (FEA), her multidisciplinary team has revealed correlation between bone metabolism and mechanical stimuli induced by denture insertion.