Dr C. van Loveren (b. 1952) has been appointed professor by special appointment of Preventive Dentistry at the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA). The chair has been endowed by Ivoren Kruis, Nederlandse Vereniging voor Mond- en Tandhygiëne (Dutch foundation for oral and dental hygiene).

Cor van Loveren will be occupying himself with establishing effective preventive programmes for dentistry high-risk groups. A large improvement in oral health took place in the Netherlands during the seventies and eighties of the previous century, this improvement however has come to a halt. There is a group of young people who still suffer from dental decay and for whom the current preventive programmes prove insufficiently successful. Among elder people as well there are specific problems concerning oral care, such as diminished opportunities for self-care when for example their health deteriorates. Van Loveren will be developing instruments for selecting these high-risk groups in time. He will also be developing preventive programmes tailored to their needs, which need to be based on more effective self-care and volunteer aid. In cooperation with researchers in molecular biology and other relevant basic dental subjects, Van Loveren will furthermore be investigating the possibilities of new preventive means. Van Loveren’s teaching will be geared to the aims of Ivoren Kruis, whose main goal is prevention.

Van Loveren has been attached to the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) since 1986, first as lecturer and as senior university lecturer, and besides works as teacher of preventive dentistry at the training centre for dental hygienists. Van Loveren furthermore is president of the Adviescollege Preventie Mond- en Tandziekten (advisory board prevention oral diseases and dental diseases) of Ivoren Kruis, and is a member of among other things the editorial board of the International Journal of Dental Hygiene and editor of the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Tandheelkunde (Dutch journal for dentistry).