The Community Dental Health Services Research Unit (CDHSRU) was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care through its Health Systems Linked Research Unit program from 1991 to 2008. It was led by Dr. David Locker at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, and worked in partnership with the Ministry and the dental divisions of a number of Ontario Public Health Units/Departments to undertake research concerning dental and oral diseases in the Ontario population, their outcomes in terms of their impact on systemic health and the quality of life, and access to appropriate and effective oral health services. It also conducted research to evaluate the school and community-based dental services offered by Public Health Units/Departments, supported other provincial and federal agencies in regards to various policy issues, and forged collaborative links with dental and other investigators across Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom.
Major research themes concerned the identification of children in need of dental treatment using school-based screening approaches and the development of oral health-related quality of life measures for use in assessing population oral health and evaluating dental programs and interventions. One major product was the Child Oral Health Quality of Life Questionnaires, a battery of measures designed to assess the impact of oral disease on the functioning and well-being of children aged 6 to 14 years and their families. These were adopted as the international standard for the assessment of the outcomes of oral disorders in children. Other research themes included the epidemiology of traumatic dental injury in children and adults, the links between asthma and oral health and access to dental care issues in socially and economically marginalized populations.
A central theme of this research, and the mission of the CDHSRU, was that oral health is an important component of overall health throughout the life span and access to appropriate dental care an important determinant of oral health.
In effort to make its historical reports widely accessible, the Dentistry Library and Discipline of Dental Public Health at the University of Toronto have posted all available reports in PDF format.
Quality Assurance
Program Evaluation
Health Measurement and Epidemiology
Clinical Decision-making
Quality Assurance
1. Woodward GL, Lewis DW. The use of pit and fissure sealants in the North York Public Dental Program. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 22 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 1.
2. Woodward GL, Ryding WH. The use of amalgam, composite resin, and glass ionomer for posterior restorations, and the criteria for replacing restorations in the North York Dental Program. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 32 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 2.
3. Woodward GL, Main PA. The use of dental radiographs in the North York Public Dental Program. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 27 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 3.
4. Woodward GL, Leake JL. The use of space maintainers in the North York Public Dental Program. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 26 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 4.
5. Main PA. Review of current infection control in dental health care. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 9 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 5.
6. Leake JL, Woodward GL, Main PA, Ryding WH. The impact of policy change in dental health care: an examination of the effect of implementing screening to gain access to dentists' examinations and preventive care in the North York Public Health Department (Pilot Study Findings). Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1994. [71] p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 6.
7. Woodward GL, Csima A, Leake JL, Ryding WH, Main PA. Time required by North York dental teams to carry out various dental procedures. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1994. 21 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 7.
8. Woodward GL, Lewis DW. The use of professionally applied topical fluorides in the North York Public Dental Program. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. [30] p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 8.
9. Woodward GL, Leake JL. When to place an initial restoration. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. 30 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 9.
10. Woodward GL, Leak JL, Main PA, Lewis DW, Ryding WH. Practice guidelines for use in the Communiy Dental Services Division of the North Yrok Public Health Department: Guidelines for the use of professionally applied topical fluorides; the use of pit and fissure sealants; the use of dental radiographs, the use of space maintainers; when to place and initial restoration; posterior restorative materials and restoration replacement; infection control. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. 22 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 10.
11. Woodward GL, Main PA, Leake JL. Oral health status of third grade children in North York: clinical and parent-reported measures. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. 26 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 11.
12. Woodward GL, Leake JL, Main PA, Ryding WH. Dentists' opinions of quality assurance. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. 23 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 12.
13. Woodward GL, Main PA, Leake JL, Lewis DW, Miller Y. Knowledge and practice patterns of Ontario dentists relative to the North York Public Health Department's Dental Practice guidelines. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. [58] p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 13.
14. Woodward GL, Leake JL, O'Keefe JP. Success of Endodontic therapy on permanent molars and recommendations for endodontic therapy in the North York Public Health Department. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. 41 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 14.
15. Leake JL, Main PA, Woodward GL. Report of the RCDSO/CDHRSU Workshop on Developing Clinical Guidelines/Standards of Practice. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. 82 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 15.
16. Sabbah W, Main PA. Evidence-based recommendations for infection control and waste management procedures in the North York Public Dental Program. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1999. 26 p. Quality Assurance Report No.:16.
17. N/A
18. Jokovic A, Leake JL, Main PA. The update of evidence-based recommendation for the use of pit and fissure sealants in the North York Public Dental Program: An evidence-based report. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1999. 42 p. Quality Assurance Report No.: 18.
19. Leake JL, Main PA, Ho E. Evidence-based recommendations for the use of professionally applied topical fluorides in the North York Public Dental Program: updated from the 1995 report by Woodward JL and Lewis DW. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1999. 42 p.Quality Assurance Report No.: 19.
20. Hawkins RJ, Locker D.Evidence-based recommendations for the use of professionally applied topical fluorides in the North York Public Dental Program: Update from the 1999 version by Leake JL, Main PA, Ho E. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2000. 47 p.Quality Assurance Report No.: 20.
21. Jokovic A, Locker D. Evidence-based recommendations for the use of pit and fissure sealants in Ontario's Public Dental Health Programs: Updated 1999 report by Jokovic A and Leake, JL. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2001. [33] p.Quality Assurance Report No.: 21.
22. Leake JL, Main PA, Rolland ER. The management of root caries: an evidence based report. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2001. 45 p.Quality Assurance Report No.: 22.
Program Evaluation
1. Jokovic A, O'Keefe J, Main P, Zanetti D, Ryding B. Oral health knowledge and toothbrushing among North York school children. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. [24] p. Program Evaluation No.: 1.
2. Jokovic A, O'Keefe J, Zanetti D, Main P. Can a dental health education program use selection criteria based on oral health status to identify students with low levels of dental health knowledge? Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. [10] p. Program Evaluation No.: 2.
3. Hawkins R, Zanetti D, Dwyer J, Jokovic A, Locker D, Main P, Otchere D. Evaluation of the North York Public Health Department dental health education program for grade one students. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1998. [83] p. Program Evaluation No.: 3.
4. N/A
5. Locker D, Matear D. Evaluation of Ontario's targeted dental screening program for schoolchildren: Report No. 2 Health Unit/Department Analyses. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2001. [26] p. Program Evaluation No.: 5.
6. N/A
7. Locker D. Evaluation of Ontario's dental screening program for schoolchildren: Final Report. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2001. [26] p. Program Evaluation No.: 7.
Health Measurement and Epidemiology
1. Locker D, Payne B. Oral health status and use of dental services among Ontarians aged fifty years and over. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 44 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 1.
2. Locker D, Payne B. Oral health status of Ontarians aged fifty years and over: clinical estimates : an analysis of data from the Ontario Health Survey 1990 and the Ontario Study of the Oral Health of Older Adults. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 17 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 2.
3. Locker D, Miller Y. Subjective oral health indicators for oral health surveys of adults. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 35 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 3.
4. Locker D, Payne B. Inequities in oral health: Ontarians aged 12 to 19 years. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 37 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 4.
5. Locker D, Ford J. Inequities in health: Evaluation of area-based measures as indicators of health inequalities. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1994. 48 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 5.
6. Miller Y, Locker D. Oral health and nutritional intake in Ontario adults aged 65 years and older. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1994. 31 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 6.
7. Ford F, Locker D. The oral health of Canadian born and foreign born Ontario adults. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1994. 29 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 7.
8. Clarke M, Murray H, Locker D, Payne B. The oral health status of 'high risk' adolescents in North York. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1994 23 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 8.
9. Jokoiv A, Locker D. Oral health status of Ontarians aged twelve years and over: an analysis of data from the Ontario Health Survey 1990. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. 25 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 9.
10. Clarke M, Locker D, Murray H, Payne B. The oral health status of 'high risk' adolescents in North York: clinical findings. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1995. 17 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 10.
11. Locker D, Jokovic A. Predicting dental treatment needs in a Older Adult Population using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. 16 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 11.
12. Clarke M, Locker D, Jokovic A. The oral health of grade 8 students in North York: a comparison between Canadian-born and Immigrant adolescents. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. 20 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 12.
13. Jokovic A, Locker D. Is water fluoridation a risk factor for hip fracture? A review of current evidence. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1996. 28 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 13.
14. Murray H, Locker D, Clarke M, Main P. Oral health status and treatment needs of older adults in North York Collective Living Centres. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1997. 16 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 14.
15. Murray H, Locker D, Clarke M, Main P. Screening for dental care need among institutionalized older adults. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1997. [22] p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 15.
16. Jokovic A, Locker D. A review of strategies and programs for the prevention of early childhood caries. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1998. 15 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 16.
17. N/A
18. N/A
19. N/A
20. Jokovic A, Prakash P, Locker D. Consumption of carbonate drinks as a risk factor for dental caries and dental erosion: a review of currect evidence. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2004. 39 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 20.
21. Locker D. Self-reported dental and oral injuries in Ontario adults aged 18 to 50 years: prevalence and causes. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2005. 23 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 21.
22. Prakash P, Jokovic A, Locker D. Development and validation of a pediatric dental screening instrument. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2006. 22 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 22.
23. Locker D. Traumatic dental injuries in Ontario children aged 12 to 14 years: prevalence, causes and quality of life : preliminary report. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 2006. 12 p. Health Measurement and Epidemiology Report No.: 22.
Clinical Decision-making
1. Woodward G, Lewis DW, Trohatos E, Benmergui C. Progression of approximal caries: a review : technical report. Toronto : Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry; 1993. 30 p. Clinical Decision-Making Report No.: 1.
The Dentistry Library would like to thank Taylor Nisbet, SLA student, for help with the scanning of the documents.