As professor by special appointment, Josef Bruers conducts practice-based research into professional oral care, and in particular into the application of clinical and evidence-based knowledge. In 2012, the Health Council of the Netherlands established that evidence-based practices have not been widely assimilated in the oral care sector and that there is an evident gap between science and practice. Bruers will be looking at the nature of collaboration between the Academic Centre for Dentistry in Amsterdam’s (ACTA) clinical research and research at the NMT as conducted within the 'data stations' (peilstations) project, of which Bruers is in charge.

Bruers has worked as a research coordinator at the NMT since 2001, and is the team leader of its Research and Information department. Bruers obtained his PhD in 2004 on research into variations in oral care practices among dentists. He is secretary of the Dutch Social Dentistry Research Association (Nederlandse Vereniging voor de Studie van Sociale Tandheelkunde, NVSST) and of the Clinical Quality Measures working group of stakeholders in the oral care sector. Bruers is also a member of the Oral Care Quality Information steering group.