Reducing oral health disparities by understanding and addressing various factors related to oral disease, and by health services research to improve access, utilization, and delivery of quality dental care. He served as deputy director of the Detroit Center for Research on Oral Health Disparities at the University of Michigan, and has been involved in the Center for Research to Evaluate & Eliminate Dental Disparities at Boston University. Another research focus of his is to better understand and improve access to and utilization of dental health care, particularly among underserved populations. This research involves analysis of large datasets including dental claims databases and national survey datasets. He has conducted crucial projects evaluating State-level oral health policy in the U.S. in collaboration with State department of public health in Michigan, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Another research focus of his is children’s water consumption patterns as it is a key aspect related to the concentration fluoride in public water fluoridation. His early publications and then more current updated results have provided key evidence to the 2015 adjustment of USPHS recommendation of optimum fluoride concentration in drinking water to 0.7 ppmF from the 1962 recommendation of 0.7-1.2ppmF by climate zone.
