The focus of the 16th Course on Research Methodology in Periodontics and Osseointegration was an update on the role of bacteria in periodontal disease. 

Twenty-nine years after the start of this training project based on periodontics research, the 16th Course on Research Methodology in Periodontics and Osseointegration was held in Oviedo (Spain) on March 10 and 11. On this occasion, the main focus of the meeting, conducted by professors Dr. Alberto Sicilia and Dr. Jose Mª Tejerina, was on the latest news on the role of bacteria in periodontal disease. 

Teachers and students from the foremost dental colleges in Spain gathered at the University of Oviedo for a refresher on oral microbiology. With the help of renowned researchers from the Department of Genomics and Health of the FISABIO Foundation (Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research) and the IATA (Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology)-CSIC in Valencia, students were able to learn how the latest techniques in molecular analysis are changing the paradigm of the oral microbiome. Lior Shapira, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reviewed how innate and inflammatory immune response is articulated before subgingival biofilm bacteria in periodontitis and peri-implantitis. 

The latest course included the presentation and defence of interesting research protocols by undergraduate dentistry students. Doctors Mariano Sanz, David Herrera, Alfonso Benítez, Elena Figuero, Alejandro Mira, Paula Matesanz and Adrián Guerrero all gave lectures at the 16th Methodology Course in Oviedo.