• Place:Zoom (registration required)
  • Time:10 - 11:30 AM (PT)
  • Date:

In this joint Share & Learn session with local oral health programs (LOHPs) and local lead agencies (LLAs) in tobacco prevention, we explored shared tobacco cessation goals and objectives and heard more about the intersection between tobacco use and oral health. You heard from two tobacco researchers from the Department of Preventive and Restorative Sciences at the UCSF School of Dentistry, Benjamin Chaffee, Professor, and Liz Couch, Project Policy Analyst, along with Rachel Colorafi, Program Consultant with the California Tobacco Prevention Program (CTPP) in the California Department of Public Health. Our presenters  shared the latest research on tobacco use and its impact on oral health along with tobacco cessation resources. We ended the Share & Learn with questions and discussion on how LOHPs and LLAs are implementing their tobacco cessation objectives. Our goal for this session was to bring everyone up to speed on current tobacco and oral health research and resources and provide opportunities to collaborate across programs locally.

Learning objectives:

  1. Learn about CTPP and the shared tobacco goals and objectives of LOHPs and LLAs.
  2. Understand how tobacco use impacts oral health.
  3. Share resources to support tobacco cessation efforts locally and statewide.
  4. Discuss implementation of tobacco cessation objectives.
Speaker Bios

Rachel Colorafi, MPH, CHES Program Consultant, Advocacy Campaigns and Training Section, California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health Rachel is a program consultant in the Advocacy Campaigns and Training Section at the California Tobacco Prevention Program (CTPP) in the California Department of Public Health. She has been a part of CTPP for 3 years and currently oversees the Program’s efforts in tobacco cessation, develops training opportunities and resources for community partners, and coordinates programmatic interventions with CTPP-funded projects across Southern California. Her career also includes serving as an AmeriCorps service member with a Sacramento nonprofit and community education specialist for the University of California (UC) Davis Nutrition Department in which she coordinated research projects for the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC State Office. 

Benjamin W. Chaffee, DDS, MPH, PhD Professor, Oral Epidemiology and Dental Public Health; Director, Program in Global Oral Health; UCSF School of Dentistry Dr. Chaffee is a professor in the Oral Epidemiology and Dental Public Health Division at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and director of the UCSF School of Dentistry Program in Global Oral Health. His research includes studies of new and emerging tobacco products (particularly use among adolescents), dental professional engagement in tobacco cessation, and influences of oral health among children and young adults. Dr. Chaffee has authored more than 130 scholarly publications and has been nationally recognized for excellence in teaching. 

Liz Couch, RDH, MS, CTTS Assistant Adjunct Professor, Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, UCSF School of Dentistry Liz is an assistant adjunct professor and project policy analyst in the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at the UCSF School of Dentistry. Her research interests include tobacco-related behaviors and decision making among youth and young adults and the role of dental professionals in tobacco prevention and cessation. She is affiliated with the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education and serves on the Journal of Dental Hygiene Editorial Review Board. As a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist (CTTS) and dental hygienist, she is dedicated to addressing tobacco use in her community and beyond.  

Slides - available upon request

Recording (1:30:24)

Resources shared: 

Q & A:

  1. Are there any materials that directly speak to oral health and tobacco? The Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC) has a few social media messages: https://www.tecc.org/social-media-message-library/smml-32/, https://www.tecc.org/social-media-message-library/smml-31/, https://www.tecc.org/social-media-message-library/smml-30/, https://www.tecc.org/social-media-message-library/smml-29/. CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers also has a few campaign resources related to oral health, such as this one. The ADA also has a brochure; unfortunately, it's not free currently. There are a few other webinars that may be of interest: KIC's "Tobacco Use and Oral Health: The Critical Role of Dental Professionals" and the UCSF Smoking Cessation Leadership Center's "Empowering Change: Using Brief Motivational Interviewing for Tobacco Cessation in Oral Cancer Prevention Webinar, co-hosted by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association."
  2. Can LOHPs and local dental providers use the Medi-Cal Dental Care Coordination Referral Form for linking Medi-Cal patients to tobacco cessation resources? And also, can dental providers bill for both the encounter fee and tobacco cessation at the same time? Can a county-employed RDH bill for tobacco cessation alone if properly documented? The referral form is really to get Medi-Cal members into dental care specifically, not tobacco cessation. Look into the KIC referral platform instead. And yes - Medi-Cal covers tobacco cessation services (using code D1320) along with exam codes. $10 maximum allowance. See Medi-Cal provider handbook, MOC, and SMA here: https://www.dental.dhcs.ca.gov/Dental_Providers/Medi-Cal_Dental/Provider_Handbook/. Code D1320 (tobacco cessation counseling) is reimbursable via the Medi-Cal Dental program but must be delivered by the same provider on the same day as an oral examination (D0150 or D0120): https://www.dental.dhcs.ca.gov/Dental_Providers/Medi-Cal_Dental/Provider_Handbook/. Really, we believe providers should deliver tobacco cessation counseling at any relevant opportunity, not only at 6-month check-ups. However, D1320 is only reimbursable from Medi-Cal Dental when delivered along with an oral evaluation.
  3. Tell us more about the CE course - when is it available? Is there a flyer? How do dental providers register? It's an on-demand course on YouTube (and there's a link to a form at the end to receive their CE certificate): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE7X1F-D-Wk. COHTAC is the CE provider, so we can tell you more about how many dental providers in your county earn CE credits by taking this course! See the new promotional flyer here. 
  4. For youth patients, do dental providers need a consent from parents/guardians to provide cessation counseling? Especially if parents/guardian are not aware of their child tobacco use. Any patient ages 13yrs+ can be referred to KIC without parent permission. In California, dental providers are allowed to have conversations with youth over the age of 12 with or without parents – it is up to the discretion of the dental provider (see here and here). We encourage dental providers to try to engage parents in this conversation, but you may get a more honest response from youth if parents aren’t in the room. This resource flyer from CTPP may be a helpful place to start the conversation with younger patients.