The Oral Health Services Research Core partners in strategic initiatives with the university, health system and community to improve and integrate oral health into overall healthcare. This is a critical area of research expertise that our school is developing to position ourselves for research and education in oral health services and public health dentistry.
The U.S. is in an oral health crisis, with doubling of hospital emergency department visits for dental problems and declining dentist migration to rural and underserved areas. Adults appear to be seeking dental care at lower rates and only 50 percent of children with public support for dental care have seen a dentist in the past year.
Tegwyn Brickhouse, D.D.S., Ph.D. builds partnerships and initiatives with researchers, academic leaders, the insurance industry, government agencies and politicians to create a vision for optimal oral health for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
VCU School of Dentistry is the only dental school in Virginia, and is therefore centrally placed for health services and disparities research. The Oral Health Research Core unites our resources and initiatives in public oral health.