Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #119779

Raul Garcia, DMD, MMedSc, Northeast Center for Research to Evaluate and Eliminate Dental Disparities, Boston University, Goldman School of Dental Medcine, 715 Albany Street, 560, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02118-2526, 617-638-6385, rig@bu.edu, Francicso Ramos-Gomez, DDS, MPH, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, 707 Parnassus Ave., Box 0438, San Francisco, CA 94143-0438, and Michelle M. Henshaw, DDS, MPH, Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research, Boston University School of Dental Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118.

The panel will report on current research aimed at reducing oral health disparities, with special emphasis on children's oral health. Panelists will describe their efforts in working with communities to identify factors contributing to oral health disparities in children and their caregivers, and to develop and test strategies for improving oral health and eliminating disparities. Successful models that highlight the importance of partnering with institutions that serve targeted disparities populations will be described, such as state and local health agencies, community and migrant health centers, schools, and community-based organizations. Research and implementation efforts involving multiple racial/ethnic groups will be presented. Specific research topics being explored by multidisciplinary teams include interventions to prevent early childhood caries (ECC); the effects of severe ECC on health-related quality of life; the impact of cultural beliefs and practices on the use of preventive services; the role of nurses and physicians in reducing oral health disparities in children. The panel will also present an update from the 2003 APHA session on work being done by the NIH-funded Centers for Research to Reduce Oral Health Disparities. Strategies for translating research findings into the formulation and implementation of health policies will be discussed.

(Supported in part by NIDCR grants U54 DE14251, U54 DE14264, K23 DE00454, K24 DE00419, and by CDC-PRC.)

Learning Objectives:

• Describe current research to reduce oral health disparities in children and their caregivers.
• Identify means by which to engage communities in the design, conduct, and dissemination of oral health disparities research.
• Develop strategies by which to translate research findings into practice in order to eliminate oral health disparities.

Keywords: Oral Health, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.