The World Workshops on Oral Medicine (WWOM) are dedicated to advancing oral medicine patient care, research and health professional education at the international level. WWOM VII will continue to pursue these goals by bringing together global experts, junior level specialist/expert faculty and advanced level residents/trainees who will work as a team to pursue highly selected topics over a prolonged period. The proposed WWOM VII, planned for September 2018 in Gothenburg, Sweden, will address three objectives: 1) Promote career development for oral medicine residents/trainees as well as early career specialist/expert faculty; 2) Produce scholarly, high impact contributions to the health care literature, to include systematic reviews and position papers; and 3) Promote collaboration among international Oral Medicine organizations, to include joint research projects, educational programs, and training opportunities. A Steering Committee comprised of international oral medicine specialists with extensive collective scientific and administrative experience selected eight topics and most of the individuals in these eight groups, with the following structure: one or more Steering Committee members; a Section Head; two Reviewers and two Assistant Reviewers; 1 or 2 oral medicine residents, and multiple Consultants. The eight topics are: 1) Oral microbiome, 2) Precision medicine, 3) Molecular biology for oral medicine specialists, 4) Use of biologics in oral medicine, 5) Consensus on outcome measures for burning mouth syndrome, 6) Future of international oral medicine, 7) Medically necessary dental care, and 8) Pediatric oral medicine. The impact of WWOM VII is also promoted by increasing the number of clinical and basic science researchers from other fields to participate in the Workshop and encourage future research collaboration. The Workshop participants will work together as an international network of specialists over a prolonged period to produce scholarly, high-impact contributions to health care literature, to include systematic reviews, clinical management recommendations, and position papers of importance to the specialty. The 8 or more manuscripts from this effort target oral medicine, as well as other specialists and primary care providers in both medicine and dentistry. They will be published as a group in the journal Oral Diseases in early 2019.
The past three World Workshops on Oral Medicine (2006, 2010, 2014) have had a major impact on this specialty and therefore public health throughout the world. For example, the focus on bringing together international oral medicine faculty, practitioners and trainees has elevated the level of scientific basis for clinical practice for this specialty and provided a unique experience for these trainees. One of the many positive outcomes from these Workshops is the high impact publications that serve to guide clinical practice and training programs, expand our understanding of the science for this specialty, and enhance patient care, technology and research in the field (Appendix 1-2).1-6
