MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services has received $30,000 from the March of Dimes Tennessee Chapter Community Grants Program to provide training to dental providers on best practices for smoking cessation.
Smile SMART is a patient-centered smoking-cessation training program for dentists, hygienists and dental assistants, according to a March of Dimes news release. It is an adaptation of the highly successful and award-winning S.M.A.R.T. Moms – Smart Mothers Are Resisting Tobacco, a program that trains providers who provide services to pregnant women in smoking cessation best practices.
The goal of Smile SMART is to empower dental professionals to use the evidence-based five A’s (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) to encourage their patients to quit smoking or decrease tobacco use, and to reduce women’s and infants’ exposure to secondhand smoke, ultimately reducing tobacco-related preterm birth, low-birth weight and other adverse birth outcomes.
In the research article titled “Tobacco Cessation Education for Dentists,” results found that “dentists with tobacco cessation training perform more interventions, report increased self-efficacy, preparedness and fewer barriers than those without training.” Dentists with cessation training were “more likely to discuss the personal relevance of quitting, roadblocks and setting quit dates, identify triggers, discuss pharmacotherapy and provide follow-up.”
Smile SMART will partner with the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Periodontology to research changes in provider behavior in Tennessee practitioners who implement the program. The initial S.M.A.R.T. Moms pilot project trained over 400 providers and reached over 13,000 women with one-on-one smoking cessation counseling. Results of the project were published in the Journal of Allied Health and indicated successes that exceeded programs offered in similar settings.
The Smile SMART project will be piloted with Rutherford County dental providers and the Hamilton County Health Department’s dental program, though other providers who express an interest are welcome to participate.
Cynthia Chafin, interim director of MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services, will serve as project director, and Andrew Owusu, Ph.D., associate professor in the MTSU Department of Health and Human Performance Department, will serve as project evaluator. Maria L. Geisinger, DDS, assistant professor in the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Periodontology, will serve as a project consultant, as will Dr. Lynne Goebel of the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.
Chafin says, “The original SMART Moms project trained physicians, nurses, and other clinicians who provide services to pregnant women. We are pleased to launch Smile SMART which will provide tailored training and resources to dental providers for smoking cessation and avoidance of secondhand smoke. Dental providers have opportunities to connect with their patients about the impact of smoking on their oral health as well as the impact of exposure to secondhand smoke of those around them, including children. We are very excited to expand the initial pilot project to include dental providers.”
For more information on MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services and the Smile SMART provider training program, or to learn how the center can help meet your organization’s research, training, or education needs, contact Chafin at
615-898-5493 or
cynthia.chafin@mtsu.edu or visit the Center’s website at
http://www.mtsu.edu/chhs/.
About the March of Dimes
The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. The March of Dimes celebrates those babies born healthy, honors those who have passed, and fights for solutions for those born prematurely or with birth defects. To honor and celebrate the babies and children who have touched your life, consider volunteering your time or making a donation to March of Dimes. Visit the March of Dimes website to learn more at
www.marchofdimes.org
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