Eating Disorders and Oral Health, Infographics

Eating Disorders: Effects on Oral Health

Eating Disorders and Oral Health, What Can Dental Providers Do?

Bree's Publications and Projects

Academic Publications

Harvard School of Dental Medicine Global Health Starter Kit Co-author

I am one of the lead authors of Module 7 Harvard School of Dental Medicine's Global Health Starter Kit, a competency-based global health ‘starter’ curriculum designed for dental educators and students. The Global Health Starter Kit is a free accessible curriculum that has registered users across 30 countries and was published as an mOralHealth case study in the recently released WHO Mobile Technologies for Oral Health Implementation Guide.

I developed COVID-19: Global Lesson for a Global Profession" (Module 7) during the last year of undergrad while I was the Pre-dental Society President at Brown University under the mentorship of Dr. Brittany Seymour, the Global Health Discipline Director at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, who is the lead author of the entire Global Health Starter Kit.

Global Health Starte Kit Co-author

Anterior Crossbite Research

Anterior Crossbite + Bottle Feeding Research

Published in the Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry

Early correction of anterior crossbite in the primary dentition can encourage proper growth and development of the maxilla and mandible, reducing the need for future orthodontic therapy. Correction is typically initiated after the age of 3 when a fixed or removable appliance can be fabricated and worn. This case study describes an instance of exceptionally early intervention without the use of an appliance. A bottle-fed 10-month-old boy presented with anterior crossbite, and a contributing factor may have been the position of the bottle's nipple during feeding. Correction of the anterior crossbite was achieved in 5 months by changing the bottle position to a counterbalancing angle. Although this technique warrants further investigation, it has the potential to reduce the need for and length of future procedures.

Art and Writing Publications

Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine

Columbia Pathology and Cell Biology Winter Publication

Brown Journal of Medical Humanities

ASDA September Contour Magazine

Columbia School of Public Health Student Perspectives

Initiatives as ASDA District 2 Legislative Liasion

Organized a successful collaboration between ASDA and APHA (American Public Health Association) to host a Zoom panelist event highlighting different ways to get involved in public health, from private practice level to community to state to federal level. Total of 128 registrants and around 80 attendees.

Learning objectives for students:

Define different levels of advocacy and their relation to public health
1. Advocacy on a patient level
2. Advocacy on a community levet
3. Advocacy on a federal level
Understand different career pathways and ways to incorporate public health into their professional practice. (Examples: community health center, teaching/education in school, private practice, lobbying/policy, public health organization or state department)
Recognize opportunities to get involved in public health and advocacy right now (population oral health management) - every dentist’s job.
1. Examples: joining public health-focused organizations (APHA, NNOHA, AAPHD), educating patients, doing public health focused research, joining state dental organizations, attending lobby day events and bringing a public health focus to advocacy topics.

Spearheaded Columbia ASDA initiative to recruit pre-dentals to work with our advocacy/ legislative committee to create infographics and raise awareness on dental advocacy topics and public health issues such as fluoridation, Medicaid, licensure, population based prevention strategies, and more! Here are past infographics designed by our fellows, posted on the Columbia ASDA instagram!
Our presentations on oral health advocacy topics:
- Here is an example of a presentation we have used in the past to present to pre-dental societies!
- This past fall, our advocacy committee, together with pre-dentals, presented "Advocacy 101" to pre-dental chapters including UMich, Hopkins, UPenn, Tufts, Cal Poly Pomona, UConn, Northeastern, UNO, Hunter, Indiana, UC-Irvine, NJIT, UOregon, Brown, and USF.

Brown Pre-dental Society Initiatives

I started an initiative “Oral Health Education for Children” teaching local elementary schoolers about the importance of oral health, proper oral hygiene & dietary habits, and fluoride benefits through virtual games like kahoot and jeopardy. Concurrently, I was working with children and conducting research on praise at the Causality and Mind Lab. Praise is important in motivating children to maintain good oral hygiene and diet, so my research was informative in how I developed and delivered presentations to children.

Oral Health for Children

Oral Health Education for Children

In 2021, I spearheaded an initiative “Oral Health for the Ederly,” working together with the Oral Health Program at RI Department to provide oral hygiene training sessions to caretakers at nursing homes. Communicating with Dr. Zwethckenbaum, Director of RI Dept Oral Health, I worked on/revised a powerpoint on causes of gum disease & tooth decay, proper set-up and maintenance of teeth, dentures and partials, dealing with residents with dementia, parkinsons and paralysis, and identifying 10 types of oral pathologies. (worked with 46 nursing homes)

Links:

Powerpoint to train nursing staff

Daily Oral Hygiene Record for Nursing Staff

Monthly Oral Hygiene Record for Nursing Staff

Oral Health for the Elderly