Research

The following are links to research papers and projects that I have worked on in the duration of the dental hygiene program.

DEN2413 Public Health: Educating Elementary School Students in Caries Prevention and Proper Nutrition at St. Brigid-St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy This paper is about the process behind our service learning project. My group and I visited an elementary school to talk about oral hygiene. It includes evidence that support link between high prevalence of caries in adult dentition and in primary dentition. It is crucial to educate children on proper oral self care at an early stage of their lives. This project grants us our ability as dental hygienists, oral health advocators, to teach the general public about what it means to have a ‘healthy smile’.

DEN2315 Pharmacology: Barberry General information about my assigned medicinal plant/dietary supplement. It is important that I am educated in not only pharmaceutical drugs but also nontraditional medicine as there are many interactions and oral manifestations that may occur. I may encounter future patients who utilize nontraditional medicine and it is something to be noted.

DEN2311 Oral Pathology: Pleomorphic Adenoma General information on the glandular tumor for my pathology class. Includes its etiology, clinical presentations, predilection, diagnoses, prognosis, histology, and differential diagnosis. Oral pathology is something that we are trained to detect, record, and write a referral for as dental hygienists. It is important to detect pathology so there is as early intervention as possible.

DEN1217 Periodontics: Case Study Treatment Planning My group and I were given a case study – 45 year old male with AIDS and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma & type III chronic Periodontitis. Treatment is Biktarvy and chemotherapy. We discuss the systemic conditions, oral assessment, give background on his treatment, and explain our dental hygiene treatment plan and diagnosis for him. Case studies are a useful tool to help enhance our critical thinking and were used often in this program.

DEN1200 Principles of Dental Hygiene II: Table Clinic Board presented at City Tech’s Wellness Fair Fall in April 2019. My group and I researched the effects of the botulin toxin on the TMJ and how it can be useful for TMJ disorders. As hygienists, patients look to us to educate them and present possible treatment options. This was a great opportunity for us to present about a rather popular concern and a potential solution for it. (click to enlarge)

DEN1200 Principles of Dental Hygiene II: Article Review on “Botulinum Toxin Type-A.. An Evolving Treatment Modality in The Management of Temporomandibular Joint Disc Placement” A review of one of the articles I used for the table clinic board presented above.