Traumatic experiences can impact individuals' oral health and how they experience dental treatment in unanticipated ways. As approximately half of children and two-thirds of adults in the United States have experienced some type of traumatic event, it is critically important for providers to appropriately provide trauma-informed care to their patients when needed.

This presentation will introduce links between traumatic history, poor oral health, and dental anxiety, and describe how dental hygienists can provide compassionate trauma-informed care that considers patients' comfort, health goals, and prior experiences. Specific recommendations for providing trauma-informed care to children and adults will be provided, as will suggestions for acknowledging a patients' prior trauma and tailoring dental care to accommodate patient's experiences and concerns.

In this webinar you will:

• Describe links between traumatic history, poor oral health, and dental anxiety.
• Evaluate how traumatic experiences can impact how dental patients experience and react to receiving dental treatment.
• Describe what is meant by trauma-informed care and how this type of care is applied in the dental setting.
• Discuss how trauma-informed care is delivered to pediatric and adult dental patients.
  
  

Speakers:
Lisa J. Heaton, PhD is a Science Writer with the Analytics and Data Insights team at CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, where she collaborates with internal and external partners to produce publications on such topics as the intersections of oral and overall health and integration of dental, medical, and behavioral health care. A clinical psychologist by training, Lisa has provided clinical behavioral healthcare to patients with dental fear and anxiety, taught several courses to dental and dental hygiene learners involving the intersections of behavioral and oral health, and conducted research focused on oral health disparities and dental fear and anxiety.

Hannah Cheung MPH, MS, RDH received her Bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene, Master's degree in Public Health and Master's degree in Dental Hygiene Education from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. In her past roles before coming to CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, she was a clinical dental hygienist, a dental hygiene instructor, and a project manager in clinical research operations. In her current role as a Health Sciences Specialist on the Analytics and Data Insights team at CareQuest Institute, she is responsible for coordinating the progress of analytical and research projects, contributing to the development of publications, and managing the data collection and acquisition processes.