Public involvement in research: exploring periodontal and peri-implant health and disease in partnership with Perio@RLH patient forum members.

Patients, carers and the public form an important partnership with the research community. By working alongside researchers, patients make a valuable contribution to all parts of the research cycle. This paper provides an opinion regarding public involvement in periodontal and peri-implant research and summarises the key points derived from a focus group that explored the topic of research in the conditions of periodontal and peri-implant health and disease. The partnership comprised forum members from the Royal London Hospital periodontics patient group (Perio@RLH) and a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians.