Seminar Series: Noha Gomaa, BDS, MSC, PHD

Putting The Mouth Back Into The Body: Towards an Oral Health-Inclusive Agenda for Public Health Research and Policy

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Noha Gomaa, BDS, MSc, PhD

Assistant Professor
Associate Director for Dentistry Research
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University

Abstract:
Despite significant advances in clinical dentistry, many underserved populations continue to suffer from chronic oral conditions and lack access to the dental care that they need. In this presentation, I will discuss why oral health needs to be a priority on the public health research and policy agendas. First, I will present the state of oral health and oral health inequality in Canada and globally. I will then highlight our work on the common social, psychosocial and biological pathways that link chronic oral diseases with other major health conditions along the life-course. Finally, I will present some of our recent findings and prospective work on policy interventions that aim to alleviate oral diseases and oral health inequality.

Short Biography:

Dr. Noha Gomaa is an Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine at Schulich Dentistry and Associate Scientist at the Children’s Health Research Institute. Noha completed her PhD in Dental Public Health at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto and a CIHR Strategic Fellowship in Public Health Policy at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She then went on to complete a clinician-scientist research fellowship in epigenetic epidemiology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Noha’s research program studies the association of oral diseases with other major health conditions, with a special focus on the underlying biopsychosocial pathways along the life-course. In translating science to policy, Noha has worked on projects with provincial and federal policymakers to advise on developing evidence-informed programs for the delivery of uninsured dental services to children from low-income families and other marginalized populations.