Anna Maria Heikkinen

By backgound I am an assistant professor of clinical periodontology, a specialist dentist in public health and clinical dentistry (focus on periodontology). During my career, I have worked in the healthcare service system: in primary healthcare, specialist nursing, in the private sector and at the university. Previously, I worked at the University of Helsinki first as a university lecturer and then as a research director, responsible teacher of public health education (basic and specialist training). I currently work full-time in the Pirkanmaa welfare region as the head of the specialist oral healthcare outpatient service line and part-time as a professor of oral public health at the University of Tampere, responsible for specialist training in oral healthcare and clinical dentistry.
In our research, we aim to find out how oral diseases can be effectively prevented and treatment practices can be made more effective, especially in young people and also in diabetics. In clinical studies, we investigate the early diagnosis of periodontitis and the effect of dual light therapy on gum health in reducing dental biofilm as an adjunct to self-care. In addition, we investigate the relationship between periodontitis and diabetes and the effect of dual light therapy, especially in reducing dental biofilm in diabetics. We also investigate the relationship between calcification of bacterial biofilm in coronary arteries and the formation of tartar on the surface of teeth and in pockets. The aim of the registry studies is to investigate the quality and effectiveness of oral health care, focusing on the individual interval of oral health checks and its significance, as well as the quality and effectiveness expectations and development related to the quality registry. In addition, we investigate the frequency of doctor and nurse services and the related sociodemographic and diagnostic background in healthcare.

Responsible specilist training in oral public health and clinical dentistry, teaching and research in oral health care, and administrative duties at the university.

The quality and effectiveness of oral health care, risk factors for oral diseases (such as biofilm and diabetes), and the early onset of periodontal disease in adolescents.

Five dissertations supervised:

DDS Solomon Nhwator: Association between aMMP-8 chairside test for chronic periodontitis and 
selected reproductive health parameters. University of Helsinki, 2018;
DDS Teija Raivisto: Active matrix metalloproteinase-8 chairside oral fluid test in association with 
subclinical periodontitis, dental caries, and health behavior in Finnish adolescents, University of 
Helsinki, 2021; 
DDS Anna Julkunen-Iivari: Association of periodontitis and tobacco use with autoimmune diseases 
and its radiologic challenges with chronic rhinosinusitis, University of Helsinki, 2021; 
MDTuomo Lehtovuori: Financial team and recording of diagnoses in primary care: A longitudinal 
follow-up study. University of Tampere, Finland. University of Tampere, 2021;
DS Ismo Räisänen: aMMP-8 mouthwash test and periodontitis in adolescents. University of 
Helsinki, Finland and Karolinska Institut, Sweden, 2023

Pirkanmaan hyvinvointialueen alueellisen lääketieteellinen tutkimuseettisen toimikunnan jäsen, Tampereen yliopiston johtamisopintojen (MOJOP) ohjausryhmän jäsen. Savuton Suomi 2030: tieteellinen neuvottelukunta sekä asiantuntija- ja ohjausryhmän jäsen, SHS Apollonian jäsen sekä Kansanterveysjaoston hallituksen jäsen, STM Koordinaatiojaoston jäsen, Suomen Hammaslääkäriliiton koulutuspoliittisen valiokunnan ja yliopistofoorumin jäsen, Tampereen yliopiston Ammatillisen jatkokoulutustoimikunnan jäsen, The International Associaton for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Reseerch (IADR) sekä IADR Innovation in Oral Care Awards Committee jäsen. 

Dentistry, oral public health, periodontology

Julkaisuluettelo / Anna Maria Heikkinen / 13.11.2025 

 1. Heikkinen AM, Pajukanta R, Pitkäniemi J, Broms U, Sorsa T, Koskenvuo M, Meurman JH. The effect of smoking on periodontal health of 15- to 16-year-old adolescents. J Periodontol 2008:79:2042-7. 28 

2. Heikkinen AM, Broms U, Pitkäniemi J, Koskenvuo M, Meurman J. Key factors in smoking cessation intervention among 15-16-year-olds. Behav Med 2009:35:93-9. 

3. Heikkinen AM, Sorsa T, Pitkäniemi J, Tervahartiala T, Kari K, Broms U, Koskenvuo M, Meurman JH. Smoking affects diagnostic salivary periodontal disease biomarker levels in adolescents. J Periodontol 2010: 81:1299-307.

 4. Heikkinen AM. (2011). Oral health, smoking and adolescence. University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Dentistry. (21.10.2011) http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-10-7250-5.

 5. Heikkinen AM, Pitkäniemi J, Kari K, Pajukanta R, Elonheimo O, Koskenvuo M, Meurman JH. Effect of teenage smoking on the prevalence of periodontal bacteria. Clin Oral Investig 2012:16:571-580.

 6. Heikkinen AM, Meurman JH, Sorsa T. [Tobacco, snuff and oral health]. Duodecim. 2015;131(21):1975-80. 

7. Nylund KM, Meurman JH, Heikkinen AM, Honkanen E, Vesterinen M,Furuholm JO, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T, Ruokonen HM. Periodontal Inflammatory Burden and Salivary MMP-8 Concentration Among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients at Predialysis Stage. J Periodontol 2015 Jul 9:1-13.

 8. Lehtovuori T, Kauppila T, Kallio J, Raina M, Suominen L, Heikkinen AM. Financial team incentives improved recording of diagnoses in primary care: a quasi-experimental longitudinal follow-up study with controls. BMC Research Notes 2015;11;8:668.

 9. Nylund K, Meurman JH, Heikkinen AM, Honkanen E, Vesterinen M, Ruokonen H. Oral health in predialysis patients with emphasis on periodontal disease. Quintessence Int. 2015;46(10):899-907 

10. Kallio J, Kauppila T, Suominen L, Heikkinen AM. A Competition between Care Teams Improved Recording of Diagnoses in Primary Dental Care: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study. Int J Dent. 2017;2017:3080957.

11. Hernandez-Rios P, Hernandez M, Garrido M, Tervahartiala T, Leppilahti J, Kuula H, Heikkinen AM, Mäntylä P, Rathnayake N, Nwhator S, Sorsa T. Oral fluid matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 as a diagnostic tool in chronic periodontitis. Dovepress, 2016:3:11-18.

12. Ruokonen H, Nylund K, Furuholm J, Meurman JH, Sorsa T, Kotaniemi K, Ortiz F, Heikkinen AM. Oral Health and Mortality in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease. J Periodontol 2016;13:1-11. 22 

13. Heikkinen AM, Nwhator SO, Rathnayake N, Mäntylä P, Vatanen P, Sorsa T. Pilot Study on Oral Health Status as Assessed by an Active Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 Chairside Mouthrinse Test in Adolescents. J Periodontol 2016a;87:36-40.

14. Heikkinen AM, Kettunen K, Kovanen L, Haukka J, Elg J, Husu H, Tervahartiala, Pussinen P, Meurman J, Sorsa T. Inflammatory mediator polymorphisms associate with initial periodontitis in adolescents. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2016 Sep 30;2(3):208-215.

15. Hellevi Ruokonen H, Nylund K, Chen W, Roslund K, Heikkinen AM, Pussinen P, Halonen L, Ortiz F, Metsälä M, Meurman JHM, Sorsa T, Groop PH, Lehto M. Oral cavity as a source of atypical infective pathogens in chronic kidney disease patients. Remedy Open Access, 2017, Corpus ID: 4809611.

16. Heikkinen AM, Pakbaznejad Esmaeili E, Kovanen L, Ruokonen H, Kettunen K, Haukka J, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T. Periodontal Initial Radiological Findings of Genetically Predisposed Finnish Adolescents. J Clin Diagn Res 2017;11: ZC25-ZC28.

 17. Nylund KM, Ruokonen H, Sorsa T, Heikkinen AM, Meurman JH, Ortiz F, Tervahartiala T, Furuholm J, Bostanci N. Association of the Salivary Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells/ its Ligand Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 1 Axis with Oral Inflammation in Kidney Disease. J Periodontol 2017;28:1-17.

18. Ruokonen HMA, Juurikivi A, Kauppila T, Heikkinen AM, Seppänen-Kaijansinkko R. High percentage of oral lichen planus and lichenoid lesion in oral squamous cell carcinomas. Acta Odontol Scand 2017;75(6):442-445. 

19. Julkunen A, Heikkinen AM, Söder B, Söder PÖ, Toppila-Salmi S,Meurman JH. Autoimmune Diseases and Oral Health: 30-Year Follow-Up of a Swedish Cohort. Dent J (Basel). 2017 Dec 22;6(1).

20. Äyräväinen L, Leirisalo-Repo M, Kuuliala A, Ahola K, Koivuniemi R, Meurman JH, Heikkinen AM. Periodontitis in early and chronic rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective follow-up study in Finnish population. BMJ Open 2017:31;7:e011916. 56 

21. Heikkinen AM, Raivisto T, Kettunen K, Kovanen L, Haukka J, Pakbaznejad Esmaeili E, Elg J, Gieselmann D-R, Rathnayake N, Ruokonen Hellevi, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T. Pilot study on the genetic background of an active matrix metalloproteinase (aMMP-8) test in Finnish adolescents. J Periodontol 2017;88:464-472. 

22. Akcalı A, Gümüş P, Özçaka Ö, Öztürk-Ceyhan B, Tervahartiala T, Husu H, Heikkinen AM, Sorsa T, Buduneli N. Proteolytic Mediators in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Gingivitis. J Periodontol 2017;88:289-297. 

23. Rathnayake N, Gieselmann DR, Heikkinen AM, Tervahartiala T, SorsaT. Salivary Diagnostics-Pointof-Care diagnostics of MMP-8 in dentistry and medicine. Diagnostics (Basel). 2017 Jan 20;7(1). 53 

24. Grönholm A, Litkey D, Jokelainen J, Keto J, Pöyry M, Linden K, Heikkinen AM. Finnish Dentists Find Smoking Cessation Important but Seldom Offer Practical Support for Their Patients. Community Dent Health. 2017: 4 (4), 241-247.

25. Äyräväinen L, Heikkinen AM, Kuuliala A, Ahola K, Koivuniemi R,Laasonen L, Moilanen E, Hämäläinen M, Tervahartiala T, Meurman JH, Leirisalo-Repo M, Sorsa T. Inflammatory biomarkers in saliva and serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis with respect to periodontal status. Ann Med. 2018;50:333-344. 

26. Raivisto T, Heikkinen A, Kovanen L, Ruokonen H, Kettunen K, Tervahartiala T, Haukka J, Sorsa T. SNP Analysis of Caries and Initial Caries in Finnish Adolescents. Int J Dent. 2018;23:1586762.

27. Äyräväinen L, Heikkinen AM, Kuuliala A, Ahola K, Koivuniemi R, Peltola J, Suomalainen A, Moilanen E, Hämäläinen M, Laasonen L, Meurman JH, Leirisalo-Repo M. Activity of rheumatoid arthritis correlates with oral inflammatory burden. Rheumatol Int. 2018;38:1661-1669. 

28. Äyräväinen L, Heikkinen AM, Kuuliala A, Ahola K, Koivuniemi R, Moilanen E, Hämäläinen M, Tervahartiala T, Meurman JH, Leirisalo-Repo M, Sorsa T. Anti-rheumatic medication and salivary MMP-8, a biomarker for periodontal disease. Oral Dis. 2018;3. 

29. Alassiri S, Parnanen P, Rathnayake N, Johannsen G, Heikkinen AM, Lazzara R, van der Schoor P, van der Schoor JG, Tervahartiala T, Gieselmann D, Sorsa T. The Ability of Quantitative, Specific, and Sensitive Point-of-Care/Chair-Side Oral Fluid Immunotests for aMMP-8 to Detect Periodontal and PeriImplant Diseases. Dis Markers. 2018;5;1306396.

30. Lehtovuori T, Kauppila T, Kallio J, Heikkinen AM, Raina M, Suominen L, Sund R. Improving the Recording of Diagnoses in Primary Care with Team Incentives: A Controlled Longitudinal Follow-Up Study. Biomed Res Int. 2018;20:2018:4606710. 

31. Nylund, KM, Meurman JH, Heikkinen AM, Furuholm JO, Ortiz F, Ruokonen HM Oral health in patients with renal disease: a longitudinal study from predialysis to kidney transplantation. Clin Oral Investig. 2018;22;1:339-347. 

32. Ruokonen H, Nylund K, Meurman JH, Heikkinen AM, Furuholm J, Sorsa T, Roine R, Ortiz F. Oral symptoms and oral health-related quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease from predialysis to posttransplantation. Clin Oral Investig. 2018 Oct 2. 

33. Räisänen IT, Heikkinen AM, Siren E, Tervahartiala T, Gieselmann DR, van der Schoor GJ, van der Schoor P, Sorsa T. Point-of-Care/Chairside aMMP-8 Analytics of Periodontal Diseases' Activity and Episodic Progression. Diagnostics (Basel). 2018 Oct 22;8(4). 

34. Räisänen IT, Heikkinen AM, Pakbaznejad Esmaeili E, Tervahartiala T, Pajukanta R, Silbereisen A, Bostanci N, Sorsa T. A point-of-care test of active matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) predicts triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) levels in saliva. J Periodontol. 2019 Jul 25. 

35. Räisänen IT, Sorsa T, van der Schoor GJ, Tervahartiala T, van der Schoor P, Gieselmann DR, Heikkinen AM. Active Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 Point-of-Care (PoC)/Chairside Mouthrinse Test vs. Bleeding on Probing in Diagnosing Subclinical Periodontitis in Adolescents. Diagnostics (Basel). 2019 Mar 23;9(1). 

36. Heikkinen AM, Räisänen IT, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T. Cross-sectional analysis of risk factors for subclinical periodontitis; active matrix metalloproteinase-8 as a potential indicator in initial periodontitis in adolescents. J Periodontol. 2019 May;90(5):484-492. 

37. Lehto M, Mustonen K, Kantonen J, Raina M, Heikkinen AK, KauppilaT. A Primary Care Emergency Service Reduction Did Not Increase Office-Hour Service Use: A Longitudinal Follow-up Study. J Prim Care Community Health. 2019 Jan-Dec;10:2150132719865151. 

38. Räisänen IT, Heikkinen AM, Nwhator SO, Umeizudike KA, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T. On the diagnostic discrimination ability of mouthrinse and salivary aMMP-8 point-of-care testing regarding periodontal health and disease. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2019 Dec;95(4):114871. 

39. Nwhator SO, Gieselmann D-R, Heikkinen AM, Lazzara M, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T. Born too young and likely to die; Should this continue? Scientific African 2019;4,:4: e00101. 

40. Poulsen H, Meurman JH, Kautiainen H, Heikkinen AM, Huvinen E, Koivusalo S, Eriksson JG. Oral Health in Women with a History of High Gestational Diabetes Risk. Dent J (Basel). 2019 Sep 3;7(3). 

41. Silbereisen A, Alassiri S, Bao K, Grossmann J, Nanni P, Fernandez C, Tervahartiala T, Nascimento GG, Belibasakis GN, Heikkinen AM, Lopez R, Sorsa T, Bostanci N. Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics versus Antibody-Based Assays to Measure Neutrophil-Derived Enzymes in Saliva.Proteomics Clin Appl. 2019 Dec15:e1900050. 

42. Raivisto T, Heikkinen AM, Silbereisen A, Kovanen L, Ruokonen H,Tervahartiala T, Haukka J, Sorsa T, Bostanci N. Regulation of Salivary Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein1in Adolescents. JDR Clin Trans Res. 2019;2380084419894287. 

43. Arenius I, Ruokonen H, Ortiz F, Furuholm J, Välimaa H, Bostanci N, Eskola M, Heikkinen AM, Meurman JHM, Sorsa T, Nylund K. The relationship between oral diseases and infectious complications in patients under dialysis [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 5]. Oral Dis. 2020;10. 

44. Kallio J, Kauppila T, Suominen L, Heikkinen AM. Recording of diagnoses in public primary oral health care in a retrospective longitudinal observational study in a Finnish town: Underrepresentation of periodontitis diagnoses. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2020;6(4):457–461.19 

45. Lähteenmäki H, Umeizudike KA, Heikkinen AM, Räisänen IT, Rathnayake N, Johannsen G,a Tervahartiala T, Nwhato SOr, Sorsa T. aMMP-8 Point-of-Care/Chairside Oral Fluid Technology as a Rapid, Non-Invasive Tool for Periodontitis and Peri-Implantitis Screening in a Medical Care Setting. Diagnostics (Basel), 2020;10(8):562.

 46. Julkunen-Iivari A, Heikkinen AM, Räisänen IT, Ruokonen H, Meurman JH, Toppila-Salmi S, Söder PÖ, Söder B. Tobacco Products, Periodontal Health and Education Level: Cohort Study from Sweden. Dent J (Basel), 2020;10;8(3):E90.

47. Haukka A, Heikkinen AM, Haukka J, Kaila M. Oral health indices predict individualized recall interval. Clin Exp Dent Res, 2020;9. 

48. Lehtovuori T, Heikkinen AM, Raina M, Kauppila T. The effect of electronic reminders on the recording of diagnoses in primary care: A quasi-experimental before and after study. SAGE Open Med, 2020;28:8:2050312120918267. 

49. Räisänen IT, Heikkinen AM, Pakbaznejad Esmaeili E, Tervahartiala T, Pajukanta P, Silbereisen A, Bostanci N, Sorsa T. A point-of-care test of active matrix metalloproteinase-8 predicts triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) levels in saliva. J Periodontol, 2020;91(1):102-109. 

50. Raivisto T, Sorsa T, Räisänen IT., Kauppila T, Ruokonen H, Tervahartiala T, Haukka J, Heikkinen AM. (2020). Active Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 Chair Side Mouth Rinse Test, Health Behaviour and Oral Health in Finnish Adolescent Cohort. JCDR, 14(1), ZC35-ZC39. 

51. Räisänen I, Sorsa T, Tervahartiala T, Raivisto T, Heikkinen AM. Low association between Bleeding on Probing Propensity and the Salivary aMMP-8 Levels in Adolescents with Gingivitis and Stage I Periodontitis. J Periodontal Res. 2020 Dec 11. 

52. Julkunen-Iivari A, Apajalahti S, Riste S, Heikkinen AM, Meurman JH, Toppila-Salmi S. Inter-observer Agreement and Inter-imaging Accuracy in Sinus Computed Tomography Scans and Panoramic Radiography on Signs of Local Dentoalveolar Bone Loss and Periapical Radiolucency. J J Oral Maxillofac Rad. 2021. 

53. Heikkinen AM, Leknes KN, Gustavsson A, Damgaar C, Bunæs D. Influence of tobacco products on periodontal health and outcome of periodontal therapy. Nordic Dental Journal theme 2022. 

54. Lähteenmäki H, Tervahartiala T, Räisänen IT, Pärnänen P, Mauramo M, Gupta S, Sahni V, Sampson V, Rathnayake N, Heikkinen AM, Alassiri S, Gieselmann D-R, Frankenberger R, Sorsa T. Active MMP-8 point-of-care (POC)/ chairside enzyme-test as an adjunctive tool for early and real time diagnosis of peri-implantitis. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2022 Feb 3. 

55. Kauppila T, Liedes-Kauppila M, Lehto M, Mustonen K, Rahkonen O, Raina M, Heikkinen AM. Development of office-hours use of primary health centers in the early years of the 21st century: a 13- year longitudinal follow-up study. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2022 Dec;81(1):2033405.

 56. Heikkinen AM, Raivisto T, Räisänen I, Tervahartiala T, Bostanci N, Sorsa T. Implementing of aMMP8 point-of-care test with a modified new disease classification in Finnish adolescent cohorts. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2022 Oct;8(5):1142-1148. 

57. Liedes-Kauppila M, Heikkinen AM, Rahkonen O, Lehto M, Mustonen K, Raina M, Kauppila T. Development of the use of primary health care emergency departments after interventions aimed at decreasing overcrowding: a longitudinal follow-up study, BMC emergency med 2022, vol. 22, issue 1, 2022, p. 108. 

58. Pakarinen S, Saarela R, Välimaa H, Heikkinen AM, Kankuri E, Noponen M, Alapulli H, Tervahartiala T, Räisänen IT, Sorsa T, Pätilä T. Home-Applied Dual -Light Photodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Stable Chronic Periodontitis (HOPE-CP)-Three-Month Interim Results. Dent J (Basel). 2022 Nov 2;10(11):206. 

59. Kallio J, Heikkinen AM, Lehtovuori T, Raina M, Suominen L, Kauppila T. Comparing the effectiveness of competition as a method of reminding primary oral health care dentists to record diagnoses with two alternative methods used to enhance the recording of diagnoses in primary health care. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2022 Dec;81(1):2125067. 

60. Raittio E, Torppa-Saarinen E, Sokka T, Lahti S, Suominen A, Suominen AL, Heikkinen AM. Association of service use with subjective oral health indicators in a freedom of choice pilot. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2023 Feb;9(1):134-141. 

61. Haukka A, Kaila M, Haukka J, Heikkinen AM. Adherence to individualized recall intervals for oral health examinations. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2023 Feb;9(1):177-185.

 62. Heikkinen AM, Sokka TT, Torppa-Saarinen E, Pimiä E, Jokinen M, Maijala M, Rantala I, Tervahartiala T, Sorsa T, Kauppila T. aMMP-8 Point-of-Care Test (POCT) Identifies Reliably Periodontitis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes as well as Monitors Treatment Response. Diagnostics. 2023 13, 2224. 

63. Äyräväinen L, Heikkinen AM, Meurman JHM. Impact of Oral Health on Rheumatoid Arthritis. Medical Research Archives. 2023, Oct;11(11):1-12. 

64. Heikkinen AM, Raivisto T, Räisänen IT, Sorsa T. Prevention of Initial Periodontitis Is an Investment in the Future. Diagnostics (Basel). 2024 Aug 24;14(17):1850. 

65. Haukka A, Kaila M, Haukka J, Heikkinen AM. Effects of periodontal treatment on periodontal status in Finland: a register-based study. Acta Odontol Scand. 2025 Feb; 84:128-136. 

66. Heikkinen AM, Niku T, Teronen E, Linden J, Kauppila T. A retrospective registry study comparing a portable school-based model and a standard clinic-based model. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2025 Dec 31;84(1):2568263.