My research focuses on oral anatomical variation in tooth agenesis(hypodontia), particularly differences in tooth size, tooth shape, palatal form and dental arch morphology. I use digitised dental models, odontometric analysis and arch measurements to investigate how dental and orofacial structures vary across individuals and populations. A key feature of my work is the application of a complex systems approach, recognising that tooth agenesis and associated anatomical variation are likely influenced by interacting developmental, genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors.
 
I am involved in the International Tooth Agenesis Network, a multi-site international collaboration established to study tooth agenesis across diverse cohorts led by Professor Alan Brook. This collaboration strengthens the scale, comparability and translational potential of my research by supporting larger datasets and enabling cross-population analysis of tooth agenesis and associated orofacial variation.
My current research also incorporates machine learning applications to support the analysis of collected data and to identify patterns within complex dental, palatal and arch morphology datasets. This approach has the potential to improve the efficiency, accuracy and scalability of orofacial phenotyping. My planned research direction is to extend dental and palatal analysis to facial profiles and further develop machine learning technologies for automated or semi-automated analysis of large orofacial datasets.
 
My clinical background in public and private general dental practice provides a translational foundation, helping ensure that my research addresses clinically meaningful questions relevant to diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment planning and precision patient-centred care.