• Highlights
• Feb 2023
• Bulletin

HKU Awards for Research Excellence

Accomplishments of Faculty Members Honoured and Recognised

Professor Chu is grateful to receive the award and extends his gratitude to those on the journey with him.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) announced the 2021-22 Outstanding Researcher Awards Scheme recipients. Professor CH Chu, Clinical Professor in Cariology received Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award (ORSSA) and Professor May Wong, Professor in Dental Public Health won the Research Output Prize (ROP).

Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award (ORSSA) – Professor CH Chu

ORSSA is to recognise excellent and effective supervisory guidance and support to research postgraduate students. “As a good research supervisor, it’s important to build relationships with your students based on openness, honesty and respect. We should be supportive yet demanding,” shared Professor Chu.

A locally trained dentist who received all his dental degrees from HKU, Professor CH Chu's academic career and research journey did not begin until he was 40. He discovered that he is passionate in preventive dentistry, community dentistry and fluoride research. “With God’s grace, I am honoured to be one of the top dental researchers, receiving grants of over HKD 72 million, and continuously getting awarded general research funding in the last five years.”

His story shows that a person with a passion can pursue a PhD at any stage of their life and achieve success. With this belief, he wholeheartedly nurtures his research students regardless of their ages and backgrounds. Along with his Christian faith, he has been sharing skills and knowledge, and passing on virtues and good values to the next generation of researchers and clinicians.

Professor Chu is grateful to receive the award. He extended his gratitude to God and those who have been on the journey with him. “Never forget why you started, for it will help you accomplish anything（不忘初心，方得始終）,” he encouraged not only his students but everyone of us.

About Professor CH Chu and his Research Focus

Professor Chu is a clinical professor and had served as a dentist in the HKU Health Service for 15 years before he joined the HKU Faculty of Dentistry. He received his dental degrees (BDS, PdipDS, MDS and PhD) from HKU. He is a diplomate of the American Board of General Dentistry, a Master of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) and he received the prestigious AGD Lifelong Learning & Service Recognition Award. He also possesses a Fellowship in Community Dentistry of the College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong and that of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (FHKAM).

Concerned about how tooth decay affects half of the preschoolers and almost all older adults in Hong Kong, Professor Chu’s research focuses on preventing tooth decay. He is the top-cited researcher in the dental use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF). SDF therapy is a simple, painless, and affordable non-restorative treatment to harden the tooth structure softened by decay. Since SDF is very effective in controlling tooth decay, the World Health Organization has recently added SDF to its list of essential medications for adults and children.

Professor Chu (front row left third) enjoys breakfast with some of his students before they start their community service using SDF to prevent tooth decay.

Research Output Prize (ROP)

The research project “Effectiveness of Family-Centered Oral Health Promotion on Toddler Oral Health in Hong Kong” won the Research Output Prize. The project aimed to improve pregnant women’s periodontal health, prevent vertical transmission of cariogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus Mutans (S. Mutans) from mothers to their infants, and establish proper toddler dietary habits and oral health practices to reduce the risk of Early Childhood Caries (ECC).

ECC is one of the most prevalent health problems in preschool children and may profoundly affect their physical health and psychosocial status. However, parental practices on maintaining good oral health of their young children are far from satisfactory. Expectant mothers often receive only pamphlets on oral health during their antenatal visits. There is also no organized dental care for toddlers provided by the government.

Additionally, prenatal stages are the optimal time to provide relevant educational information. The dissemination of oral health education (OHE) would protect the oral health of pregnant women during pregnancy and their infants during the early years of life. Hence, the early establishment of proper dietary and feeding habits and parental toothbrushing practices would reduce the risk of ECC in toddlers and has a lifelong impact.

Professor May Wong believes the award encourages the team to keep up their good work and research in the future.

Research and its Outcomes

In view of the above mentioned, a research team led by Professor May Wong conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a family-centered oral health promotion program for first-time pregnant women, their husbands, and their infants. Individualized OHE via a behavioural and educational counselling approach was delivered to the parents in the test group compared to the delivery of OHE pamphlets in the control group. This RCT was the first clinical family-centered RCT in Hong Kong focusing on the oral health of new parents and their infants.

The novelty of the study was the evaluation of the association between oral health outcomes and S. Mutans quantification, beginning in the prenatal stage of the pregnant women and continuing through the first three years of childhood for their infants. The results were very encouraging, the ECC prevalence of 3-year-olds in the test group was only one-fifth compared to the control group (4.4% versus 21.2%). Family-centered oral health promotion is more effective in establishing good feeding habits and parental tooth-brushing practices, and in decreasing the caries risk of their toddlers than the distribution of OHE pamphlets alone.

Notably, the prevalence of dental caries in 3-year-old in the control group, whose parents only received oral health pamphlets during the prenatal and their babies’ infancy stages, was significantly lower than the previously reported rates. Early oral health interventions assist parents and toddlers in developing proper oral health habits and brushing techniques, and they will continue to reap the benefits for the rest of their lives.

Moving Forward

On top of the traditional way of disseminating oral health information to parents, the team is conducting another RCT using mobile messages to enhance the parents’ oral health awareness and encourage positive oral health habits for themselves and their children. Next, the team hopes to reach out to more disadvantaged groups that are most vulnerable to oral disease.

Alternatively, the oral cavity’s microbial diversity and evolution during teeth eruption, between the use of xylitol and fluoride toothpaste, and during dietary changes (breastfeeding VS formula feeding; liquid to solid food) are not well characterized. Hence, “we are identifying the dietary or other factors that alter the oral microbiota environment. This will tremendously help in the future adoption of oral health promotion strategies,” said Professor Wong.

Being awarded, Professor Wong said, “It is a great honour and a recognition of our hard work, dedication, and perseverance in this well-executed research project. I am grateful to have an amazing team of colleagues, students, and support staff who contributed much to its success.”

The Faculty congratulates Professor Chu and Professor Wong for their remarkable work in research and teaching. The Faculty, in support of the mission of HKU to be a research-led university, strives to achieve excellence in research and the discovery of new knowledge. We will continue investing resources into nurturing research excellence among its staff and students.