Presenter
Deborah Saunders, BSc, DMD (she, her/elle)
Dr. Saunders is Medical Director of the Dental Oncology Department
and Program Lead for the Clinical Tobacco Intervention Program at
the Northeast Cancer Centre (NECC), ranked among the province's top
programs. A member of the Ontario Health Tobacco Initiative Research
Committee, she served as subject matter expert for the Training
Enhancement in Applied Counselling and Health (TEACH) online tobacco
intervention modules. Her research focuses on oral complications in
cancer therapy, head and neck cancer survivorship, and tobacco
intervention economics and genomics. She leads the Smoking Treatment
for Ontario Patients (STOP) Student Initiative, Ontario's only
undergraduate volunteer program serving patients with low health and
technology literacy.
Learning Outcomes
After the webinar, participants will be able to:
-
Identify the scientific evidence linking tobacco and nicotine use to
oral health conditions, including periodontal disease, xerostomia, and
oral cancers, to inform evidence-based patient care
-
Demonstrate effective communication strategies for discussing the
risks of smoking and vaping with patients, addressing barriers and
opportunities within the clinical environment
-
Apply a systematic screening process to identify patients who smoke or
vape, integrating tobacco use assessment into routine dental hygiene
practice
-
Facilitate patient referrals to appropriate smoking cessation
programs, utilizing available resources to support patients in
achieving tobacco-free health outcomes