Oral Health Scholars Raise Awareness About the Relationship Between Oral and Systemic Health

Two Black women stand with a table in the background — (From l) George Richmond Foundation Oral Health Scholars Danyel Smith, PhD, and Naaria Williams Jackson visited a grocery store in Ward 8 to educate shoppers about oral health and recruit for the Facilitated Lessons on Oral and Systemic Health in Survivors (FLOSS) Project, an ongoing clinical trial.

Posted in Lombardi Stories | Tagged epidemiology, FLOSS Project, George Richmond Foundation Oral Health Scholars, oral health

(November 14, 2024) — While oral health is often treated as something separate from overall health, it can act as an early warning system for serious conditions, including cancer and heart disease. With funding from the George E. Richmond Foundation, researchers at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center are training graduate and undergraduate students to educate their communities about the importance of oral health and studying how to promote oral health in cancer survivors via a novel telehealth intervention.

“People don’t think about how integral oral health is to our overall health,” said Chiranjeev Dash, MBBS, PhD, MPH, “What happens with gum disease might be an indicator of chronic disease.”

In 2019, a Georgetown qualitative study of oral health knowledge in African American residents of the District of Columbia found gaps in participants’ understanding of the relationship between oral health and systemic health. Though most participants in the study had health insurance, they were unsure about whether they had dental coverage, how to find dentists who accepted their insurance, and what services were covered by their dental insurance.

“Although oral cancers are not as common as other cancers, oral health is a strong predictor of our overall health and an under-researched factor in cancer prevention and control,” Dash said. “What we want to do is increase awareness of oral health as it relates to systemic health and connect people to oral care.”

Different Backgrounds, Shared Interest

The George Richmond Foundation Oral Health Scholars at Georgetown Lombardi have conducted research on topics including periodontal disease and metabolic syndrome, COVID-19 and oral health, disparities in oral cancer screening and head/neck HPV among men, and oral complications of cancer treatment. To support oral health patient navigation, the oral health scholars created an up-to-date resource guide for people on Medicaid that identified local oral health care providers.

Four people stand, one holding a device to the mouth of a Black woman seated in a chair — (From l) Oral Health Scholars Chris Leby, Naaria Williams Jackson and Newton Nyrienda received training on the use of an intraoral camera by dental consultant Dr. Vivana Urban. Danyel Smith (seated) served as a practice participant.

Additionally, the oral health scholars have also contributed to the Facilitated Lessons on Oral and Systemic Health in Survivors (FLOSS) Project, an ongoing clinical trial evaluating the use of telehealth to promote oral health in cancer survivors to improve their overall health and lower their risk of chronic disease. Specifically, the oral health scholars have developed recruitment and study management materials, assessment protocols, and visual aids.

Most of the oral health scholars have come from Georgetown’s master’s degree programs in epidemiology, tumor biology, and data science and analytics, though some of the scholars were students in undergraduate programs at Georgetown and other schools.

Though they come from different backgrounds, the oral health scholars share an interest in working with communities to improve health. “Mostly they’re interested in doing hands-on community engagement work,” Dash said.

Making a Difference in Oral Health

Chris Leby is a Black man pictured outdoors in the city — Chris Leby (G’25)

Chris Leby (G’25) learned about the opportunity to become an oral health scholar during his orientation for Georgetown’s M.S. in epidemiology program. “Based on my previous interest in oral health, the idea of working to understand the connection between oral and systemic health really caught my attention so I went ahead and applied for the position,” he said.

After working as a dental technician in Kenya, David Seeh (G’23) studied periodontal disease and physical activity as an oral health scholar while earning his M.S. in epidemiology at Georgetown. After graduation, he was hired as a clinical research coordinator at Georgetown Lombardi.

“Having this experience as an oral health scholar in my resume has accorded me another milestone in experience, and I believe this played a big part in my getting my first employment post-graduation,” he said.

David Seeh is a Black man pictured in graduation regalia — David Seeh (G’23)

An aspiring health-care professional, Leby looked forward to drawing on his work as an oral health scholar in his future career. “Being an oral health scholar will allow me to have the knowledge to pass on to my future patients,” he said. “It is a fun and rewarding experience to know that you are helping make a difference within the world of oral health.”

‘Solidified’ Career Interests

A posting on Georgetown’s jobs site informed Jessica Catterson (G’26), a graduate student in Georgetown’s epidemiology program, about the opportunity to become an oral health scholar.

“During my undergrad, I did lots of research about the connection between cancer and overall well-being, but it never involved oral health,” she said. “Reading about the program made me reflect upon how I was lacking in knowledge of how poor oral health can negatively impact your health. “

Jessica Catterson is a white woman with brown hair and brown eyes — Jessica Catterson (G’26)

As an oral health scholar, Catterson shares what she has learned about the relationship between oral health and overall well-being with cancer survivors.

“Being an oral health scholar has solidified that cancer research is the field that is meant for me,” she said. “I came in confident that oncology was a topic that I am incredibly passionate about, but having this hands-on experience has given me the confidence to pursue it.”

Danyel I. Smith, PhD, T32 postdoctoral fellow in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Georgetown Lombardi, also felt validated in her career choices after being an oral health scholar.

“My unique research experiences during my time as an oral health scholar have solidified my career interests in designing and implementing evidence-based interventions into communities and contexts of populations experiencing high-cancer burden, with an aim to improve health equity,” Smith said.

Kat Zambon
GUMC Communications