Tobacco Cessation Via Public Health Dental Clinics (PHD2)

The prevalence of tobacco use is especially high in lower socioeconomic status (SES) populations in the U.S. Community Health Centers provide comprehensive primary care services, and usually dental services, to large numbers of low-income smokers and smokeless tobacco users. The typical patient has multiple dental visits, which can be used for tobacco cessation advice and counseling by the dental office team. This study builds on a successful pilot study conducted in two public health dental clinics.

This study is a randomized clinical trial in which 14 public health dental clinics in Oregon, Mississippi, and New York City were stratified by state, matched within state by racial/ethnic composition, and then randomly assigned to either the Intervention or Usual Care Control condition. In the Intervention Condition, the dental team provided a brief intervention modeled on the "5A's" advocated by the Clinical Practice Guideline.