UCCOH aims to reduce oral health disparities among children by addressing barriers of access, education, and motivation; socio-economic factors; new technologies and treatment techniques; patient’s sensitivity, culture and attitudes. 

​UCCOH utilizes evidence-based research, clinical trials and interventions to transform oral health behaviors; and produce useful studies and analyses to advance research and the future of pediatric oral care.​

​It is important for our research programs to increase knowledge and awareness; expand the use of risk assessments and disease management models with minimally invasive pediatric treatment services.
Timeline of Research Projects

Research Projects

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Behavioral Economics for Oral Health Innovation (BEECON)
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Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIDCR) the BEECON (BEhavioral EConomics for Oral health iNnovation) project aims to explore the influence of financial incentives on oral disease management in young children in Los Angeles County. This project began in 2015 with Drs. Stuart Gansky (UCSF), Jim Kahn (UCSF), and Francisco Ramos-Gomez (UCLA) as the principal investigators leading the BEECON study.  Financial incentives have been used successfully in health behavior change studies such as tobacco cessation and glucose monitoring, but this is the first project to utilize behavioral economics in oral health.
  1. Qualitative interviews with parents/caregivers and Early Head Start home visitors and parents/caregivers and quantitative surveys of parents/caregivers will determine current brushing habits, existing barriers, and the feasibility and acceptability of different micro-incentive packages (e.g., cash, noncash equivalent-value gift, or lottery payouts) targeted toward increasing parents/caregivers’ behaviors to prevent early childhood caries (ECC) prevention.
  2. An individually randomized pilot clinical trial (N~90) will be conducted in one or two Early Head Start (EHS) home visit programs in Los Angeles to assess the feasibility and acceptability of two micro-incentive packages versus no incentives.
  3. In Years 3-5, an individually randomized clinical trial (N~400) will be conducted in LA EHS home visit programs to test an incentive package versus a control condition to increase parent/caregiver behaviors, improve child oral hygiene, and reduce ECC.
  4. The project will estimate the short- and long-term cost-effectiveness and return on investment of micro-incentives in improving parent/caregiver behaviors and their children’s oral health​.
For more information on our partner CANDO at UCSF, please click HERE.
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Glass Ionomer Sealant and Fluoride Varnish Randomized Clinical Trial (GIFVT)

Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIDCR) the Glass Ionomer sealant and Fluoride Varnish randomized clinical Trial (GIFVT). The project began in 2012 with Drs. Stuart Gansky (UCSF), Francisco Ramos-Gomez (UCLA) as the principal investigators leading the GIFVT study.  The community-based project is located in Southern San Diego near the US-Mexican Border where there is a large Hispanic, underserved, low-income population.

​The project followed children ages 2.5-3 years old for three years in order to compare the efficacy of fluoride varnish alone vs fluoride varnish (FV) used in conjunction with glass ionomer sealants (GIS), a newer slow-releasing fluoride technology. Data analyses are still underway but early results are very promising.
For more information on GIFVT, please click HERE.
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Community Oral Health Workers (COHWs) Pilot (I)

The Community Oral Health Workers (COHWs) project, which started in June of 2016 and lasted one year, aims to reduce the immense burden of dental disease in young children in Los Angeles County. Early childhood caries (ECC) - caries among toddlers and preschoolers - is increasing nationally, concentrating disproportionately in children of color and low socioeconomic families. Though dental caries is a preventable disease, it remains the number one chronic infectious disease among children.
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With support from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), a $40,000 grant awarded to Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez,  the COHWs project recruited a cohort of ten (bilingual preferred English/Spanish) parents/caregivers who will participate in an oral health training and education course and mentoring program provided by UCLA dental students/residents. The oral health training utilized cutting-edge, evidence–based disease prevention, health promotion, and disease management tools to positively impact caregiver’s oral health knowledge and practice. This oral health course was taught to the caregivers under the supervision of Dr. Ramos-Gomez. The program aimed to train these ten caregivers to become COHWs who then conducted oral health workshops for their peers at local Head Start and WIC programs (train-the-trainer model) in Los Angeles County. Additionally, the project aimed to inspire these caregivers/parents (and the trained COHWs) to consider careers in public health, community health, dentistry or similar fields.
Effects of an Educational and Outreach Intervention on Community Oral Health Workers.pdf
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The Community Oral Health Workers Curriculum is now available!  
The oral health training and education that ten parents/caregivers received ​serves as a cutting-edge disease management tool covering lectures in Early Childhood Caries, Health Promotion, Disease Management & Prevention, and many more topics!
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To view the full COHW curriculum, including the project's abstract, please click here. 
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Community Oral Health Workers (COHWs) II
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With support from the Alliance for a Cavity Free Future (ACFF), a $25,000 grant awarded to Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez, the COHWs project will recruit a cohort of fourteen (bilingual preferred English/Spanish) parents/caregivers within Hope Street Family Center who will participate in an oral health training and education course and mentoring program provided by UCLA Nursing faculty, UCLA Pediatric Dentistry residents, and UCLA dental students. 

Session 1– General 
Session 2 – Prenatal and PP
Session 3 – Infant and Toddler
Session 4 – General Pediatric Dental conditions


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To view the full COHW curriculum, including the project's abstract, please click on the images below.

COHW Project featured at the American Public Health Association 2018 Annual Meeting
APHA's Annual Meeting and Expo is the largest and most influential annual gathering of public health professionals. The Community Oral Health Workers Project studies and findings were presented at the APHA Annual Meeting by Hamida Askaryar and  Dr. Jennifer Villalta. Nearly 13,000 attendees joined in San Diego to learn and find inspiration. 
Community Oral Health Workers
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Other Research Projects
PictureImran Ahmed, BS

​Examining the Role of Interprofessional Education in Advancing Pediatric Dentistry Curricula: A Systematic Review 

​Imran Ahmed conducted a research project on Interprofessional Education and its impact on pediatric dentistry curricula through the UCLA CTSI Summer Fellowship program. Each student in this program was paired with a faculty mentor and through this partnership  conducted either clinical or community-partnered or health services research. Imran earned and received a pre-doctoral stipend from the National Institute of Health, which was used for research project expenses. This program provides each student early exposure to the practice of interdisciplinary, community-partnered transnational or health services research in urban undeserved communities. 









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​For more information about our CTSI Program, visit: www.ctsi.ucla.edu
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UCLA Basic Dental Principles (BDP) - Research Poster Presentation

​A group of pre-dental undergraduate students participated in the UCLA Basic Dental Principles course.  This course is offered to students interested in pursuing a career in dentistry.  It consists of a lecture/didactic portion and laboratory experience.  Students presented a research poster for their laboratory portion. 

Yael Breziner, Catherine Eshaghzadeh, Freddie Hsiao, and Eric Wong presented their research in "The Effects of In-Between Meal Snacking of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Food on Early Childhood Caries", winning first place, while competing with 18 other groups!  Catherine Eshaghzadeh has been our Infant Oral Care Program Volunteer in Mar Vista - Lou Colen Clinic.  We are excited to see the dedication and motivation this course brings to undergraduate students as they pursue a career in Dentistry! 

For more information about our Infant Oral Care Program, visit: www.uclaiocp.org
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Perception and Understanding of ICDAS amongst UCLA Dental Students
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UCLA Dental Students, Josh Johnson and Tanya Kavoussi collaborated with Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez in conducting a study regarding the perception and understanding of ICDAS amongst UCLA Dental Students.  

ICDAS is a system that requires dentists to provide a diagnostic classification of a carious lesion, the most prevalent dental lesion, when submitting a treatment plan.  The purpose of this study is to assess how familiar UCLA dental students are with ICDAS, and what their opinions are about using this system in the UCLA clinic and in their future practices.  

To view a copy of the poster presentation, click here