Community Oral Health

Our Smiles, Our Rides, Our Earth: The Eco-Impact of Dental Care

Our Smiles, Our Rides, Our Earth: The Eco-Impact of Dental Care

Introduction Have you ever thought about how your mouth can impact the environment? This blog looks at how individual, professional, and organizational responsibilities and policies can impact the only planet we have to live on. Climate change is an escalating crisis...

Teledentistry: Embracing Its Utility for Oral Healthcare 

Teledentistry: Embracing Its Utility for Oral Healthcare 

Telehealth services for teleconsultations and telemonitoring have increased since the pandemic [1], though teledentistry, in various forms, has been employed for at least the last 25 years [2]. Teledentistry may revolutionize oral healthcare by overcoming access...

Using Art for Effective Health Education

Using Art for Effective Health Education

A key responsibility of public health is disease prevention and the promotion of overall well-being. Investing in disease prevention benefits individuals, the healthcare system, and society at large. To fulfill this responsibility, effective health education must be...

Overlooked Factors for Dental Service Utilization

Overlooked Factors for Dental Service Utilization

Gender, race, and ethnicity may be missed opportunities to explore how social identity components can hinder dental service utilization. Recognizing the psychosocial benefits of oral health and the importance of maintaining healthy teeth requires insight and empathy...

The Essential Do’s and Don’ts of Successful Oral Health Programs

The Essential Do’s and Don’ts of Successful Oral Health Programs

In this blog, we'll explore some essentials of establishing a Community Oral Health Program, some “Do” and “Do not.” Creating a robust community oral health program is more than a goal; it's a commitment to the well-being of a community. Community Oral Health Program,...

Periodontal Disease and Whole Body Health: The Oral-Systemic Link

Periodontal Disease and Whole Body Health: The Oral-Systemic Link

With the separation of medical and dental care, it is easy to see why the public has a difficult time realizing that dental health has a direct effect on medical health. As an oral health care professional it is important to bring awareness of links between the oral-...

Aphthous Ulcers: Causes, Types, and Treatments

Aphthous Ulcers: Causes, Types, and Treatments

Aphthous ulcers (oral aphthous), commonly known as canker sores, present a prevalent oral concern affecting 20-25% of the population. Unlike fever blisters (cold sores), aphthous ulcers are painful white or yellow sores that emerge inside the mouth and are not...

A Comprehensive Guide to Preventing Dental Cavities

A Comprehensive Guide to Preventing Dental Cavities

Oral health is a vital aspect encompassing the well-being of teeth, gums, and the entire oral-facial system, influencing our ability to smile, speak, and chew. Among the prevalent diseases impacting oral health are dental cavities (tooth decay), gum (periodontal)...

Dental Caries: A Global Health Burden and the Cost of Neglect

Dental Caries: A Global Health Burden and the Cost of Neglect

Dental Caries remain a significant oral health burden globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 2.3 billion people worldwide suffer from dental caries in permanent teeth, making it one of the most prevalent chronic diseases. In the United...

Social Cognitive Theory: Understanding its Role in Education

Social Cognitive Theory: Understanding its Role in Education

The Community Oral Health (COH) Program introduces students to the underlying foundations for selecting methods and strategies for implementing health education programs; methods selectedby health clinicians should be grounded in behavior change theory. The health...

Should We Focus on Vulnerable Populations or Everyone?

Should We Focus on Vulnerable Populations or Everyone?

Vulnerable populations are those at higher than average risk of disease and bad disease outcomes directly or through the healthcare system. (Riegelman, 2019). In the Community Oral Health COH Program, consideration for the needs of vulnerable populations is a focus of...

21st Century Public Health: Learn From the Past and Build the Future

21st Century Public Health: Learn From the Past and Build the Future

During the past two decades, the public health community's attention has been drawn increasingly to the social determinants of health (SDH). A search on Google results in millions of hits, which indicates that people are talking about this term. So, what does Social...

COVID-19’s Impact on Homeless Populations in Los Angeles

COVID-19’s Impact on Homeless Populations in Los Angeles

  As COVID-19 continues to threaten communities across the world, the homeless population is facing a "crisis in a crisis."  Below is a presentation I've put together on the state of homelessness in Los Angeles, the impact COVID-19 has had on this population, and...

Dental Hygiene Tips During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dental Hygiene Tips During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Keeping good oral health during the pandemic is not only important, but a critical message that must be adopted in every community.  Read on to discover dental hygiene tips to stay healthy during the pandemic, and for caring for a COVID-19 positive patient....

How to Plan and Implement a Community Health Program

How to Plan and Implement a Community Health Program

This is an adapted presentation by Professor Linda Brookman, RDHAP, BSDH, MS for the Community Health Program Planning and Implementation course as part of USC Ostrow’s Community Oral Health program. What is the public health pyramid? The public health pyramid is a...

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

This is an adapted presentation by Professor Linda Brookman, RDHAP, BSDH, MS for the Community Health Program Planning and Implementation course as part of USC Ostrow's Community Oral Health program.   What is health equity? According to the World Health...

Distance Education vs. Correspondence Courses

Distance Education vs. Correspondence Courses

Not all online programs are the same. Let’s look at the definition of a correspondence course versus an eLearning experience.   Why is the distinction important? While there has been no payment made by St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, the U.S. Department of...

Create an Asynchronous eLearning Experience in 4 Easy Steps

Create an Asynchronous eLearning Experience in 4 Easy Steps

Before we cover the four steps for creating an asynchronous eLearning experience, here are three studies that demonstrate the benefits of using interactive video content in eLearning courses.   The Effectiveness of Embedded Content as form of Active Learning The...

How to Motivate Students: EPAs, Badges, and Experience Points

How to Motivate Students: EPAs, Badges, and Experience Points

The final installment in the F.I.S.G.R. acronym for effectively teaching online is “R,” which stands for rewards. In general, the principle is that rewards do in fact motivate students. Before explaining badges and experience points, it is important to explain...

How to Use Guided Discovery Questions to Deepen Learning

How to Use Guided Discovery Questions to Deepen Learning

Guided discovery means that the instructor creates questions and suggests resources for students to research and on which to report. These questions are typically given to students at the end of a lecture or following a patient case problem. The article, Student...

3 Best Practices for Creating an Interactive Course Manual

3 Best Practices for Creating an Interactive Course Manual

There are several pieces of circumstantial evidence that exist to support the idea that students don't read textbooks anymore. For example, Pearson, the largest publisher of educational textbooks has said they are phasing out print books and making all learning...

How to Increase Student Performance with Active Learning

How to Increase Student Performance with Active Learning

In this installment of our series on effective online teaching, we will cover the basics of creating a recorded interactive lecture and an interactive course manual. In subsequent articles, we will explore the technology needed to do this. Our goal is to go well...

How to Teach Online Courses Effectively

How to Teach Online Courses Effectively

I recommend five things that you should consider using if you want to teach interactively: focused lectures, interactive teaching, supplementation, guided and structured discovery, and rewards (F.I.S.G.R.) 1. Focused, Short, Up-to-Date Lectures The first letter is “F”...

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