ResearchProjects

The United States Public Health Service recommends that all clinicians identify their patients’ tobacco use status, advise those that smoke or use other forms of tobacco to quit, assist them in their quit attempts, and follow-up on these attempts. Dental public health clinics are a unique and relatively unused opportunity to help those patients most in need of smoking cessation services. The study team developed a personal digital assistant (TC-PDA) for use in the exam room that guides dentists in developing patient-specific recommendations for smokers, including information on available counseling resources and pharmacotherapy.  They examined whether the TC-PDA improved the rate at which dentists and dental students assisted their patients with tobacco cessation. In addition, they assessed whether exposure to information and recommendations from the TC-PDA increased the rate at which patients made at least one serious attempt to quit in the month following the dental visit, and increased the use of counseling and pharmacotherapy during those attempts. The project provided critical new knowledge regarding the incorporation of effective tobacco dependence treatment into routine dental care.