Sjögren's Syndrome and Oral Health

Seunghee Cha, DDS, PhD, is a Professor of Oral & Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Florida College of Dentistry. Dr. Cha is actively involved in basic and clinical science research while attending patients and serving in leadership roles for various international scientific communities. She was the former President of the Salivary Research Group of the American/International Association for Dental Research and currently oversees research and patient care as the Director of the Center for Orphaned Autoimmune Disorders. Dr. Cha’s research focuses on the pathogenesis of autoimmune Sjӧgren’s syndrome (SS) and cell replacement therapy to improve dry mouth in SS patients. In particular, she has investigated the pathological roles of anti-muscarinic type 3 receptor autoantibodies in hyposalivation, epigenetic regulation of microRNA and its functions in innate immunity, self-nucleic acid sensing mechanisms in monocytes,  susceptibility genes by high-throughput genomics and proteomics, and diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for SS. Dr. Cha has published extensively in peer-reviewed international journals.

• Clinical Characteristics of SS and Current Management: Characteristics of SS, Pharmacotherapy and Dental Management.- Saliva and Its Importance in SS.- Efficacy of Sialoendoscopy in SS.- Dysautonomia in SS and Oral Complications. Immunopathogenesis of SS: Mechanisms of Secretory Dysfunction in SS.- Dysregulation of Innate Immunity and Oral Health.-Dysregulation of Adaptive Immunity and Oral Health. Improved SS Diagnosis and Therapeutics: Recurrent vs. Persistent Salivary Gland Swelling in Differential Diagnosis of SS.- Salivary Gland Ultrasound Sonography of SS and Juvenile SS.- Sialometry: The importance of Calibration.- Gene Therapy in SS for Restoration of Secretory Dysfunction.