Dr. Sonica Singhal, Scientist, Oral Health, Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention

Areas of Expertise

• oral health
• access to healthcare
• tobacco research
• program planning and evaluation
• public health policy

Appointments

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto

Academic Degrees and Accreditations

• Doctor of Philosophy (collaborative degree in Dental Public Health and Public Health Policy), Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto
• Master of Science (Epidemiology), Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto
• Master of Public Health, University of New South Wales, Australia
• Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Delhi University, India
• Fellow, The Royal College of Dentists of Canada (FRCDC)

PHO Research Interests

• Estimating the burden of dental diseases among pre-school children in Ontario.
• Assessing the burden on the health care system due to non-traumatic dental diseases.
• Identifying barriers to access to dental care among different vulnerable populations. 
• Effects of community water fluoridation cessation on dental caries.
• Impact of periodontal diseases on diabetes and cardiovascular health.
  
   

PHO Research Activities

• Leading the evaluation of the Healthy Smiles Ontario program, a publicly funded dental program for children and youth of low income families, in terms of its process and impact to improve oral health and access to oral health care of clients.
• Principal investigator to determine the load of emergency department visits in Ontario due to dental problems. 
• Synthesizing evidence to assess whether oral health knowledge changes oral health behavior.
• Investigating Inverse Care law in dental care in Canada.

Selected Publications

1. Singhal S, Quinonez C, Manson H. Visits for non-traumatic dental conditions in Ontario’s healthcare system. JDR Clin Trans Res. 2018 Sep 20 [Epub ahead of print].
2. Stein K, Farmer J, Singhal S, Marra F, Sutherland S, Quiñonez C. The use and misuse of antibiotics in dentistry: a scoping review. J Am Dent Assoc. 2018;149(10):869-84.
3. Singhal S, Figueiredo R, Dupuis S, Skellet R, Wincott T, Dyer C, et al. Knowledge, attitude, willingness and readiness of primary health care providers to provide oral health services to children in Niagara, Ontario: a cross-sectional survey. CMAJ Open. 2017;5(1):E249-54.
4. Singhal S, Farmer J, McLaren L. Methodological considerations for designing a community water fluoridation cessation study. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2017;45(3):193-200.
5. Singhal S, Mamdani M, Mitchell A, Tenenbaum H, Lebovic G, Quiñonez C. Dental treatment and employment outcomes among social assistance recipients in Ontario, Canada. Health Policy. 2016;120(10):1202-8.

View more publications by Dr. Sonica Singhal on PubMed.gov