Publications by authors named "Suman Challa"
Objective: To enhance primary care dentistry and medicine residents' didactic knowledge, communication skills to address patient's healthcare needs, and collaboration among healthcare professionals, while increasing confidence in integrating primary care skills into their clinical practice.
Methods: An Interprofessional Education workshop was organized to enhance didactic knowledge and learning of 42 primary care dentistry (PCD) and family and community medicine (FCM) residents on topics including addressing facial and dental trauma in adults, managing patients with alcohol use and abuse, pain control and prescription opioid use in dentistry, and opioid use disorder and treatment. An online survey was administered before and after the workshop to assess changes in knowledge, confidence, and future intentions to incorporate targeted primary care skills learned during the workshop into clinical practice and to elicit residents' perceptions of workshop quality.
Objective: The primary objective of this research was to use qualitative methods to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and confidence of caregivers in their ability to provide oral hygiene assistance to residents. The secondary objective was to assess the knowledge and attitude of administrators on the provision of oral hygiene assistance for residents, and their confidence in caregivers' ability to provide oral hygiene assistance to nursing home residents in San Antonio, Texas.
Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with seven caregivers and twelve administrative staff from ten nursing homes in San Antonio, Texas.
Objective: The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effectiveness of a single application of 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution in arresting and controlling active accessible caries compared to no treatment among adults aged 18 years and older residing in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Many patients cannot receive standard-of-care dental treatment due to their medical conditions and inability to undergo anesthesia. All teeth in the control group will be treated with SDF at the conclusion of the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose/objective: To assess the impact of local anesthesia (LA) course for physician assistant (PA) and adult gerontology-acute care nurse practitioner (NP) program students on knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and intention to incorporate skills in clinical practice.
Methods: The course was conducted by dental faculty for forty-eight PA and seven NP students and consisted of two lecture hours on anatomy of the oral cavity, anesthesia and pain management, 2 hours of preclinic lab where participants practiced injection technique on mannikins, and a clinical practicum conducted by dental school faculty and residents where students observed dental treatment including administration of LA, and discussed symptom triage by NPs and PAs for patients with dental problems including orofacial pain, initial management including LA, and patient referral to dentists. An online survey was administered to all students before and after the course to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and intention to incorporate LA administration skills into clinical practice and elicit students' perception of program quality.
Objective: To assess both individual and interactive effects of prenatal medical conditions depression and diabetes, and health behaviors including smoking during pregnancy on infant birth defects.
Methods: The data for this research study were collected by the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) in 2018. Birth certificate records were used in each participating jurisdiction to select a sample representative of all women who delivered a live-born infant.
Background: This study was conducted to determine the impact of a patient's ethnicity on seeking preventive dental services at the Community Health Centers (CHCs) in South-Central Texas.
Methods: Primary electronic health records (EHR) data were collected regarding each patient's medical and dental history, and comprehensive treatment planning. The researchers retrieved EHR from January 2016 to 2022.
The objective of this study was to explore associations between allegations of malpractice and the severity of the alleged malpractice injury. The public-use data file of the National Practitioner Data Bank was used to identify 34,042 dentist malpractice reports from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2020. Univariate descriptive analysis was conducted to identify frequencies of malpractice allegations when classified by the severity of the alleged malpractice injury, practitioner graduation year, and year of original report processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA commitment on the part of dentists to provide dental care to pregnant patients may contribute to alleviating the burden of oral disease experienced in this population. To assess barriers to providing dental care for pregnant patients, a survey instrument was developed and distributed to 472 Alabama Academy of General Dentistry members. Descriptive analyses were conducted to assess dental care practices, self-reported competence, and barriers to providing dental care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose/objectives: The School of Dentistry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSA-SoD) implemented an SoD Emerging Leaders Program (SoDELP) in 2020-2021. This case report describes the leadership training needs of junior faculty that stimulated SoDELP development, the inter-institutional collaboration that facilitated program implementation, SoDELP curriculum content, and outcomes of formative assessment for two pilot cohorts of the SoDELP.
Methods: The 32-h curriculum was comprised of readings, reflection exercises, seminars by the Center for Professional Excellence at the University of Texas at San Antonio, case discussion, analysis of leadership dilemmas, and self-assessments.
Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the multifaceted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental practices and their readiness to resume dental practice during arduous circumstances.
Methods: The authors distributed an observational survey study approved by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Institutional Review Board to dental care practitioners and their office staff members using Qualtrics XM software. The survey was completed anonymously.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between general health behaviors and oral health behaviors in adults who participated in the interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 2015 to 2016.
Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study design of a national data set that included 5,992 adults who represented a sample of civilian, noninstitutionalized US population.
Statistical Analysis: Chi-squared test of independence was used to describe the relationship of demographic information with oral health behaviors of participants.
Purpose: This in vitro study evaluated and compared the vertical marginal gap of cast and milled full coverage gold copings using two margin designs (chamfer and chamfer bevel) before and after fitting adjustments.
Materials And Methods: Ten impressions were made of two metal master dies (one chamfer margin, one chamfer-bevel margin) and poured twice in Type IV stone. The 20 subsequent casts with 40 dies were split into four groups (n = 10); cast gold bevel, cast gold chamfer, milled gold bevel, and milled gold chamfer groups.