Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) has announced Falk Schwendicke as the 2026 recipient of the IADR Distinguished Scientist William H. Bowen Research in Dental Caries Award. Schwendicke, from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 104th General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research on March 25-28, 2026 in San Diego, CA, USA.
Schwendicke is Professor and Chair of Conservative Dentistry and Director at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He obtained his dental degree and doctorate at the Dental School of Charité–Universitätsmediz in Berlin, Germany where he subsequently also completed his Ph.D. Schwendicke is deeply engaged in clinical practice, academic teaching, and leading research programs in cariology and related fields.
Schwendicke’s early research in minimally invasive and evidence-based caries management, particularly on selective carious tissue removal and its economic evaluation, helped lay the foundation for contemporary treatment guidelines. Building on this work, his research has increasingly focused on integrating emerging technologies to address challenges in caries detection and management. Most recently, he has pioneered the use of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) applications for radiographic analysis, diagnostic support, and predictive modelling.
A landmark achievement was his leadership of a randomized controlled trial evaluating AI-assisted caries detection, which set new standards for clinical research in this field and informed subsequent cost-effectiveness analyses. Schwendicke also serves in numerous editorial and review roles and has been a speaker at the IADR General Session and other scientific meetings. He has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and 30 book chapters and is ranked among the top 1% most cited dental researchers worldwide, according to the Stanford global ranking.
Supported by Kenvue, the William H. Bowen Research in Dental Caries Award is designed to stimulate and recognize outstanding and innovative achievements that have contributed to the basic understanding of caries etiology and/or to the prevention of dental caries. It is one of the 17 IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards and one of the highest honors bestowed by the IADR.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
