Home EventsPart of The Evidence

Putting the Mouth Back in the Body

, –
Past
  • Free
  • Discussion
  • Speech-to-text
Claudia Hammond sitting in front of a standing microphone and wearing headphones talking to another speaker during an event.
Claudia Hammond, Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

What you’ll do

Come to a panel discussion about the importance of our mouths.

Research shows that our mouths are a window to the overall health of our bodies. From diabetes and dementia to our hearts and bones, our mouths tell us so much without uttering a word.

The conversation will be hosted by Claudia Hammond, who will be examining the evidence alongside a panel of guests.

The audience will have the chance to ask questions afterwards. You can participate or just listen in. 

The event will be recorded live with an audience and edited into a programme to be broadcast on the BBC World Service as part of ‘The Evidence’ series. After broadcast, episodes of ’The Evidence’ will be available on the BBC website.

Dates

, –
Past

Need to know

Location

We’ll be in the Reading Room on level 2. You can walk up the spiral staircase to the Reading Room door, or take the lift up and then head left from the Library Desk.

Place not guaranteed

Booking a ticket for a free event does not guarantee you a place. You should aim to arrive 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to start to claim your place. If you do not arrive on time, your place may be given to someone on the waiting list.

Waiting list

If this event is fully booked, you may still be able to attend. We will operate a waiting list, which opens 30 minutes before this event starts. Arrive early, and we’ll give you a numbered ticket. If there are any unfilled places just before the start time, we will invite you to enter in order of ticket number.

Speech-to-text

This event will be live-transcribed. The captions will be displayed on a screen in-venue.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call

Our event terms and conditions

In partnership with

BBC World Service

Partner

The BBC World Service is the world’s largest international broadcaster. It broadcasts radio and television news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages to many parts of the world.

Photographic black and white, head and shoulders portrait of Claudia Hammond.

Claudia Hammond

Presenter

Claudia Hammond is an award-winning broadcaster, writer and psychology lecturer. She is the presenter of ‘All in the Mind’ and ‘Mind Changers’ on BBC Radio 4, and ‘The Evidence’ and ‘Health Check’ on the BBC World Service.

Black and white photograph of the head and shoulders of a middle-aged man with thinning hair and frameless glasses. The man is smiling and looking straight at the camera.

Nikos Donos

Speaker

Professor Nikos Donos is the Director of Research, the Chair of Periodontology & Implant Dentistry and Director of the Centre for Oral Clinical Research at the Institute of Dentistry, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Prof. Donos has significant clinical experience in providing treatments for severe periodontal disease, including bone tissue regeneration and dental implants, as well as for peri-implant diseases (peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis).

Black and white head and shoulders photograph of a middle-aged man with a short beard. The man is smiling and looking straight at the camera.

Graham Lloyd-Jones

Speaker

Dr. Graham Lloyd-Jones is a Consultant Radiologist from the UK and an educator in the field of medical imaging. During the pandemic he has worked to further our understanding of the lung disease caused by COVID-19 which he refers to as a ‘pulmonary vasculopathy’ – a disease of the lung blood vessels – rather than a ‘pneumonia’. In exploring this area of interest, he has made surprising links between poor oral health and the severity of COVID-19. Now working with multiple research groups and organisations internationally, Graham’s main focus is on highlighting the central role our mouths play in protecting us from diseases of the body. He will discuss how damage to the immune defences of the mouth leads to entry of micro-organisms into our bloodstream and how the bacteria which cause gum disease are also responsible for causing or worsening important diseases in the rest of the body.

Black and white photograph of a young woman with large-rimmed glasses. She is smiling and looking directly at the camera.

Kristina Wanyonyi-Kay

Speaker

Dr Kristina Wanyonyi-Kay is Research Programme Leader and Senior Research Associate at THIS Institute. She has a degree in Dental Surgery from the University of Nairobi, an MSc in Public Health from the University of Dundee and a PhD in health services research and population health from King’s College London. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Health and Science Committee of the British Dental Association. Kristina’s research interests are in improving effectiveness and efficiency in health services and addressing health inequalities. Her portfolio of research is collaborative across chronic diseases. She has undertaken healthcare improvement research in primary care, hospitals and social care.

Black and white photograph of the head and shoulders of a woman looking at the camera and smiling.

Vivien Shaw

Speaker

Vivien is an acupuncturist and anatomist. Her research has shown that the ancient texts describing acupuncture points and meridians were based on anatomical examinations of the bodies of executed criminals and ancient acupuncture texts such as the Mawangdui medical manuscripts, which were found in a tomb closed in 168 BCE, are therefore among the world’s oldest surviving anatomical atlas based on direct examination of the human body. As well as her acupuncture practice, Vivien is an academic visitor at Hull York Medical School, and an accreditation officer for the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board.