Founder

FOUNDER STORY

How my questions grew beyond the clinic.

As a child, I was afraid of the dentist. Meeting a dentist who understood how I felt was the starting point for my wish to become one myself.

After graduating from Hiroshima University, I chose dental anaesthesia as my field. My clinical experience included training in medical anaesthesia, paediatric dentistry and care for people with disabilities. At Fukuoka Dental College, I worked in clinical practice, teaching and research, thinking particularly about support for people with strong anxiety or fear of dental treatment, and the circumstances behind it.

Clinical work also led me to think about people who could not reach a dental clinic in the first place. Sometimes those who need professional support cannot find their way to it. I wanted to study not only what happens within a clinic, but also the stage before a visit.

In 2023, I moved my research to the University of Turku in Finland. I now use epidemiological data, including birth cohorts, to study relationships between dental anxiety, dental attendance, self-care, oral disease and general health. I see dental anxiety not only as an individual psychological issue, but also as one connected with access to care and health inequalities.

Alongside my research, I kept asking how science could reach people distant from dental care. DentalGO is a new way of addressing this question: wrapping dental science in kindness and fun, and making it something people can encounter in daily life. It is still in development, but I want to create experiences that help everyone find their own way to care for their oral health, at their own pace.