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Kentucky Oral Health Innovation Initiative

The Kentucky Oral Health Innovation Initiative (KOHII) is a new university-based initiative that aims to address health disparities in the commonwealth by advancing and uplifting the value of oral health. KOHII is based at the College of Dentistry’s Center for Oral Health Research (COHR) and was launched in partnership with the UK College of Public Health and UK College of Medicine.

Mission

KOHII establishes a new infrastructure designed to support and advance clinical, translational, and health services research related to oral/systemic health, public health, and health disparities. The three innovations of the initiative include:

  1. Integration: Building support for greater integration of oral health into local overall health service delivery systems.
  2. Information: Fostering partnerships among community members and the university for the generation of new information and knowledge.
  3. Research Leadership: Creating new education and training opportunities to develop future leaders in dental public health and translational research, and expanding the research workforce needed to realize the KOHII mission.

The overall structure aligns research initiatives with NIH-NIDCR strategic planning research priorities.



KOHII Structure

Goals

Three main goals guide KOHII’s current activities: 

  1. Strengthen oral health disparities research and its integration with strategic health disparities research across the University of Kentucky;
  2. Reduce related health disparities in the Commonwealth, and; 
  3. Re-establish dental public health capacity at UK for sustainability and growth of these efforts. 

News

Oral health is often overlooked as an essential component of overall health despite evidence of strong associations with systemic conditions and mental and emotional health conditions. Additionally, oral disease disproportionately impacts underserved and historically marginalized groups making oral health an important issue of health equity, especially here in Kentucky, one of the poorest states regarding oral health conditions and associated co-morbidities.
The Kentucky Oral Health Innovation Initiative (KOHII) is a new university-based initiative that aims to address health disparities in the Commonwealth by advancing and uplifting the value of oral health. Based at the College of Dentistry and in partnership with the UK Colleges of Public Health and Medicine, the initiative aims to create an infrastructure to support greater integration of oral health into overall health service delivery systems at the local and state level. The partnership will also contribute to new oral health innovations and knowledge through research, education, and training, to develop future leaders in translational and dental public health research.
 
KOHII recently achieved a significant milestone by formalizing a partnership with the Kentucky Primary Care Association (KPCA) and its statewide network of community health centers. Twenty-one centers have co-located dental services, which make up a significant part of Kentucky's dental safety net system providing a dental home to approximately 1 in 4 Kentuckians enrolled in Medicaid and those without dental insurance. KOHII's partnership with the KPCA formalizes infrastructure for collaboration in promoting oral and overall healthcare integration, developing common oral health metrics and information sharing, and creating joint-educational opportunities with providers working with underserved and marginalized groups. A key aim of the KOHII-KPCA partnership is to develop research initiatives driven by the needs and experiences of communities in Kentucky with a focus on health equity—an innovation toward greater inclusion and representation in oral health research.
 
Currently, KOHII, KPCA, and other community partners are working together on several projects to understand better oral health vulnerability and resilience in Kentucky communities and use collected information to contribute to solutions for improved oral health. Efforts include:
  • Developing guidance to strengthen the ability of Kentucky's safety-net dental practices to provide safe oral healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises.
  • A cross-sectional study to evaluate early risk factors predisposing patients of different social and racial/ethnic backgrounds to caries and periodontal disease.
  • Evaluating the role and impact of dental providers in education and recommendations regarding oropharyngeal cancers and HPV vaccination.
  • Investigating opportunities for utilizing value-based metrics across the state's dental safety net system.
  • Examining oral health inequities and their relationship to social vulnerabilities.
  • Various additional projects aimed at promoting the integration of oral and overall health care centered on topics such as diabetes and maternal/child health.

Projects

  • Minimizing Risks from COVID-19 in Dental Practices: This study aims to develop a web-based guidebook  to strengthen the ability of Kentucky’s safety-net dental practices to provide safe oral healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises. Investigators: Dr. Kevin Pearce (UK College of Medicine), Dr. Daria Stone (UK College of Dentistry), Dr. Rick Ingram (UK College of Dentistry/UK College of Public Health) & Dr. Corrine Williams (UK College of Public Health)
  • Dental Home Entryway During a Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted access to routine and emergency dental care all over the world. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the pandemic has affected dental care in an academic setting in the U.S. Investigators: Dr. Susan Bishop (UK College of Dentistry), Ralph Catalano, Malini Kirakodu (UK College of Dentistry), Dr. Wes Coffman (UK College of Dentistry), Dr. Craig Miller (UK College of Dentistry) & Dr. Luciana Shaddox (UK College of Dentistry)
  • Differential analysis of inflammatory mediators between African American and Caucasians: The aim of this study is to determine if there is a difference in inflammatory chemo/cytokine mediators in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and a different inflammatory response to bacterial LPS in Caucasians compared to African Americans. Investigators: Dr. Rubelisa C. G. Oliveira (UK College of Dentistry), Sree Kirakodu (UK College of Dentistry), Dr. Jussara Goncalves Fernandes (UK College of Dentistry) & Dr. Luciana Shaddox (UK College of Dentistry)
  • Implementing Value-Based Metrics into Kentucky’s Safety-Net Dental Clinics to Promote Integration, Improve Oral and Overall Health, and Expand Health Information Technology Capacity: KPCA primary lead, proposal submitted and under consideration. Investigators to include: Dr. Daria Stone (UK College of Dentistry)
  • Applying an Equity Lens to Kentucky’s Oral Health Safety-Net:  Evaluate, Education, Effect Change!: UK/KOHII primary lead, proposal submitted and under consideration. Investigators to include:  Dr. Kevin Pearce (UK College of Medicine), Dr. Daria Stone (UK College of Dentistry), Dr. Rick Ingram (UK College of Dentistry/UK College of Public Health), Dr. Corrine Williams (UK College of Public Health) & Dr. Luciana Shaddox (UK College of Dentistry)

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