Professor Mangala Patel, PhD (Lond),MSc, BSc(Hons)

Profile

Professor Mangala Patel was awarded a BSc degree with honours in Chemistry, followed by an MSc in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. She then successfully completed a PhD on heterocyclic methacrylates for dental and clinical applications, in the Department of Biomaterials in Relation to Dentistry, at the former London Hospital Medical College, now named Dental Physical Sciences Unit (DPSU), at QMUL.

Professor Patel's research centres on the development of novel polymeric dental and related biomaterials, for the delivery of therapeutic (active) species, locally within the oral cavity and in the body, aimed at treating a range of pathological conditions.

From 2011- early 2019, Professor Patel chaired the Institute of Dentistry (IoD) Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT). Under her leadership, the IoD successfully gained the Athena SWAN Bronze Award in 2013, renewed in 2015, followed by the Silver Award in November 2018, thus demonstrating the impact of her actions, in fostering a positive, inclusive environment in which all staff and students can flourish. She continues to mentor numerous staff and students to reach their career goals.

As an experienced Dental Materials (DM) tutor, Professor Patel has led on the development of both undergraduate and postgraduate dental materials teaching to stimulate students’ interest. 

Currently she is Centre Lead for Oral Bioengineering, one of the four research active centres within the Institute of Dentistry.

Centre: Oral Bioengineering

Teaching

Professor Mangala Patel has extensive experience in teaching Dental Materials Science and Biomaterials for clinical applications, to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. To enhance student experience, she has actively designed the dental materials component of the 2012 undergraduate curriculum, which runs across all five years of the degree. Professor Patel delivers Dental Materials Science teaching that underpins the materials clinical use(s). She also examines several PhDs, MSc/ Doctors in Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) and BEng / BSc projects. Professor Patel is a module convenor for 1 DClinDent and 2 MSc modules, which she has designed and developed to provide students with in-depth, evidence-based knowledge of the subject, to attain optimum clinical results when using these materials.

Research

Research Interests:

Professor Patel's research centres on the development of novel polymeric dental and related biomaterials for the delivery of therapeutic (active) species, locally within the oral cavity and in the body, aimed at treating a range of pathological conditions. An example includes proteins across oral mucosa and dermal sites.

The detailed kinetics of water absorption and diffusion processes associated with drug release are central to the clinical performance of these systems. This area of research has benefitted from interdisciplinary research, international / national collaborations, patents, and success in external / internal funding. A further example is the development of a self-disinfecting dental alginate impression material, that is effective against some oral bacteria and viruses. 

Innovative research areas also include iontophoretic drug delivery via the buccal mucosa, drug delivery systems for potentially treating oral Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (ulcers), and the development of materials useful in addressing orthodontic white spot lesions. The outcomes of a recent project area foresee an impact on reducing early-stage caries.  This research includes materials containing Layered Double Hydroxide (LDHs), that are capable of absorbing and releasing therapeutic levels of fluoride (and other beneficial ions). 

With her team, Prof Patel has invented FluoRight, a new dental ingredient which continually releases beneficial ions in the mouth throughout the day or night. This invention works in the lab. Current testing includes its performance in everyday dental products.

Publications

Key Publications

Hasan, M.A., Khatoon, A., Arseniyadis, S., Patel, M., Wong, F.S.L. (2025). A novel radiopaque resin infiltrant for managing early enamel caries. Journal of Dentistry, 161, 105995.  doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2025.105995

Negm, E. E., Patel, M., & Ryan, P. (2025). Does the removal of the support structure affect the palatal accuracy of partial denture frameworks produced by three vat polymerization printing technologies?. Digital Dentistry Journal, 1(1), 100001. doi:10.1016/j.ddj.2025.100001

Negm, E. E., Patel, M., & Ryan, P. (2025). A Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Influence of Palatal Vault Depth on Digitization Accuracy of Partially Dentate Arches.. The International Journal of Prosthodontics, 0(0), 1-28. doi:10.11607/ijp.9353

Pham, T., Zou, L., Patel, M., Holmes, S., & Coulthard, P. (2024). Impact of tooth loss and patient characteristics on coronary artery calcium score classification and prediction. Scientific Reports, 14, 14 pages. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-79900-3

Alhallak, M., Karpukhina, N., & Patel, M. (2024). Permeability of triamcinolone acetonide, released from mucoadhesive films, through a buccal mucosa-mimetic barrier: Permeapad™. Dental Materials, 40(9), 1372-1377. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2024.06.016

Negm, E. E., Patel, M., & Ryan, P. (2024). Impact of the superimposition reference area on intraoral scanning accuracy in a partially dentate maxilla. Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, 132(1), 189.e1-189.e11. doi:10.1016/j.prosdent.2024.03.018

Ali, W. N. S. W., Parker, S., & Patel, M. (2024). Effect of Food-Simulating Liquids on the Leachability of Plasticizers from Dental Tissue Conditioners. European Journal of Dentistry, 18(03), 883-890. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1777046

Pham, T. D., Holmes, S. B., Patel, M., & Coulthard, P. (2023). Features and Networks of the Mandible on Computed Tomography. doi:10.1101/2023.08.04.23293634

Alhallak, M., Karpukhina, N., & Patel, M. (2023). Triamcinolone acetonide release modelling from novel bilayer mucoadhesive films: an in vitro study. Dental Materials, 39(6), 595-602. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2023.04.005

De Souza, G. M., Tiwari, T., Fox, C. H., Miguez, P. A., Letra, A., Geisinger, M., Patel, M., Shaddox, L., Ioannidou, E. (2023). Perception of COVID‐19 pandemic restrictions on dental researchers. Journal of Dental Education, 87(2), 170-181. doi:10.1002/jdd.13104

Agha A, Parker S, Parkinson EK, Patel M (2021). Characteristics of experimental resin-modified glass-ionomer cements, containing alternate monomers to HEMA. Dental Materials2021 Oct;37(10):1542-1552.  10.1016/j.dental.2021.08.003

Ud Din S, Parker S, Braden M, Patel M ( 2021 ). Improved water absorption behaviour of experimental hydrophilic vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) impression materials incorporating a crosslinking agent and a novel surfactant. Dental Materials vol. 37 , ( 6 ) 1054 - 1065 .
10.1016/j.dental.2021.03.019

Hoxha, A., Karpukhina, N., Gillam, G., Bushby, A., Patel, M., (2020). Fluoride Rechargeable Layered Double Hydroxide Powders for Dental Applications. Applied Clay Sciences Volume 200, Jan 2021, 1005863  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2020.105863

Hoxha A, Gillam DG, Agha A, Karpukhina N, Bushby AJ, Patel MP (2020). Novel fluoride rechargeable dental composites containing MgAl and CaAl layered double hydroxide (LDH). Dental Materials Volume 36, Issue 8, August 2020, 973-986 10.1016/j.dental.2020.04.011

Patents

Hill, R., Patel, M., Shahid, S. (2025). Flaked Glass Composites. European Patent Specification, EP 3 319 581 B1 No 16744543.6

Hine, C. E. Franks, M. A., Patel, M., Hill, R., Parker, S., Karpukhina, N. (2020). Dental Composition Comprising Rechargeable LDH Battery. European Patent Specification EP 3 060 192 B1, No14795855.7.