Mihai Tarce

BDS, MSc Perio, MEng Software, PhD

I am currently recruiting for a funded 4-year full-time PhD position in virtual implant planning and surgical navigation.

Applicants should have specialty training in periodontology/implant dentistry; clinical experience with virtual implant planning and guided surgery is required; experience with dynamic navigation and/or robotic surgery is an advantage.

The project is scheduled to begin in January 2027. If you are interested and fulfill HKU's admission requirements, please e-mail me your CV and research proposal before August 30th.

Welcome to my website. I am a periodontist and software engineer, and currently clinical assistant professor and undergraduate programme director in Periodontology and Implant Dentistry at the Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong.

My primary interests are in:

  • digital dentistry: virtual implant planning, computer-assisted implant surgery, augmented reality and artificial intelligence;
  • disease prevention: personalized oral hygiene instructions, AI-assisted screening and predictive risk models;
  • technology-enhanced learning: using portfolios and assessments to enhance student learning and development.
About me

I completed my postgraduate training (2021) and PhD (2022) at KU Leuven in Belgium and have since been appointed visiting professor of Periodontology & Oral Microbiology at the same university. In 2015 I was the recipient of the ITI scholarship at the Centre for Oral Clinical Research, Queen Mary University of London.

I have previously worked as a consultant in the Periodontology department at University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium and before that at the San Paolo university hospital in Milan, Italy.

Projects
kigun

kigun

kigun.org

Modern tools for dental education and research, supporting student portfolios and interactive case discussion.

Lifelong smiles

Lifelong smiles

lifelongsmiles.hk

Personalized oral hygiene information for dentists, hygienists and patients.

Selected publications

An open deep learning-based framework and model for tooth instance segmentation in dental CBCT. Zhou Y, Xu Y, Khalil B, Nalley A, Tarce M. Clin Oral Investig. 2025 Sep 25;29(10):473. doi: 10.1007/s00784-025-06578-w. PMID: 40996470; PMCID: PMC12464119.

Peri-implantitis Risk Assessment (PiRA) Part 2: Retrospective Study and Framework for an Evidence-Based Prediction Model for Clinicians. Quirynen M, Tarce M, Siawasch M, Castro AB, Temmerman A, Coucke W, Teughels W. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants. 2025 Sep 26;40(5):571-578. doi: 10.11607/jomi.11211. PMID: 40512527.

Peri-implantitis Risk Assessment (PiRA) Part 1: Umbrella Review of a Multifactorial Disease with Many Risk Factors. Tarce M, Quirynen M. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants. 2025 Sep 26;40(5):555-562. doi: 10.11607/jomi.11107. PMID: 40512526.

Artificial Intelligence Versus Human Intelligence in Presurgical Implant Planning: A Preclinical Validation. Elgarba BM, Fontenele RC, Du X, Mureșanu S, Tarce M, Meeus J, Jacobs R. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2025 Jul;36(7):835-845. doi: 10.1111/clr.14429. Epub 2025 Mar 14. PMID: 40084869; PMCID: PMC12230891.

Non-invasive oral implant position assessment: An ex vivo study using a 3D industrial scan as the reference model to mimic the clinical situation. Tarce M, Becker K, Lahoud P, Shujaat S, Jacobs R, Quirynen M. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2024 Aug;35(8):854-863. doi: 10.1111/clr.14206. Epub 2023 Nov 10. PMID: 37927146.

Surgical guides for guided bone augmentation: An in vitro study. Tarce M, Merheb J, Meeus M, de Faria Vasconcelos K, Quirynen M. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2022 May;33(5):558-567. doi: 10.1111/clr.13916. Epub 2022 Mar 15. PMID: 35266206.

Inaccuracy of buccal bone thickness estimation on cone-beam CT due to implant blooming: An ex-vivo study. Vanderstuyft T, Tarce M, Sanaan B, Jacobs R, de Faria Vasconcelos K, Quirynen M. J Clin Periodontol. 2019 Nov;46(11):1134-1143. doi: 10.1111/jcpe.13183. Epub 2019 Sep 9. PMID: 31446644.