20
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Volume3 Issue1
I
ssues and
P
eople
ResearchProgram
Dr. Emami isparticularly interested in lookingat
thedifferent factors affectingoral health in the
context of general andpublichealth, to seehow
best to implement evidence-basedapproaches
and translate knowledge into informeddecision
making. Toachieve this, her researchprogram
ismultidimensional andcollaborative,with the
ultimategoal todecrease theburdenof poor
oral healthat the individual, communityand
population levels. Brokendown intoher three
research themes, her goals are:
• Intervention: testingprosthetic treatments
to improveoral healthandqualityof lifeof
edentulouspeople;
• Access: addressing social andgeographic
distancebarriers inaccessingdental care
services;
• Impact: understandinghowpoor oral healthcan
affect general health.
Sheexplains, “In the intervention theme, I am
conductingclinical trials to test theeffectiveness
of prosthodontic interventions in thepromotion
of oral health, general heathandqualityof life for
edentulous individuals, especiallyelders. Through
this theme, I amcurrently leadingaCIHR-funded
randomizedcontrol trial to the test theeffect
ofwearing theprosthesis at night on sleepand
qualityof lifeof elders.
“Through theaccess thememy researchhelps to
better understand the social and spatial pathways
of oral healthdisparities. I haveestablished
a strongpartnershipwith rural and remote
stakeholders, anddevelopeda seriesof ongoing
collaborativecommunity-basedprojects to
developand implement innovative strategies
targetingoral healthpreventionandpromotion.
Recently, CIHR fundedour knowledge synthesis
project on the integrationof oral health inprimary
healthcare.
“Finally, the impact themeprovides causal
explanationson the roleof oral health inoverall
health. Inour ongoing researchproject on this
theme,weare investigating the roleof poor oral
health in the riskof sporadiccolorectal cancer.”
SustainabilityThrough
Partnership
Inher researchprogram, Dr. Emami has
establishedandcontinues tomaintain strong
partnershipswithdecisionmakers, researchers and
healthprofessionals, buildingon trust, common
understandingand interests, shared insights and
collaborativedecision-makingandwork. Themost
importantmessageDr. Emamiwants to share
about her researchprogramwithpolicymakers,
dentists, oral health researchers andpatients is
that, “We live inCanada, oneof thebest places in
theworld for observing icebergs. So let’s apply the
‘icebergmodel’ tooral healthandusea systems
thinkingapproach to shareour responsibilities in
maintaininganoptimal level of oral healthat the
population, communityand individual levels.”
Regarding the futureof oral health research,
Dr. Emami advises, “Toensure the sustainability
of theclinician-scientist career, especially inoral
health,we shouldworkat theundergraduate
level. It isnecessary to implement academic
programs andeducational policies that increase
dentistry students’ awarenessof—andmotivation
toward—suchcareers. Doctoral programs (DMD,
DDS, PhD) need tobeencouraged inCanadian
dental faculties, and theevaluationof existing
programs could lead toabetter understandingof
their effectiveness and their challenges. Financial
incentives suchas scholarships andensuring
tenure-trackpositions for clinicians-scientists
would likely support thegrowthof thisprofile.”
a
Aversionof this articleoriginallyappeared in theApril 2015editionof
IMHAOn theMove!—theCIHR-IMHAmonthlypublication. CDA thanks
CIHR-IMHA for grantingpermission to re-publish this article.
Visit
to readmore
about aworkshop
oncariesdisparity
thatDr. Emami
co-organized.
In the intervention theme, I am conducting
clinical trials to test the effectiveness
of prosthodontic interventions in the
promotion of oral health, general heathand
quality of life for edentulous individuals,
especially elders.
