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Sensory Adaptations in Dental Environments

This lab, led by Sharon Cermak, studies interventions that alters the sensory characteristics of the dental environment in order to decrease children’s physiological anxiety and negative responses during oral care and contribute to increased child comfort as well as safer, more efficient, and less costly dental treatment. If successful, this intervention has the potential to revolutionize clinic-based dental care for the growing population of children with autism spectrum disorder, as well as for typically developing children with dental anxiety and/or sensory over-responsivity.

Funded Projects

• Sensory Adapted Dental Environments to Enhance Oral Care for Children with and without Dental Fear and Anxiety (Principal Investigator: Leah Stein Duker)
• Sensory Adapted Dental Environments to Enhance Oral Care for Children (SADE-2) (Principal Investigator: Sharon Cermak)

Previous Projects

• Sensory Adapted Dental Environments to Enhance Oral Care for Children with Autism (Principal Investigator: Sharon Cermak)

Media

• Group helps get kids with autism get through dental visits / KCBS2-TV/KCAL9-TV
• Can researchers enhance the dental experience for children with autism? / USC News
• Building a friendlier dentist / NBC network affiliates
• Children with autism dread the dentist, but USC research may help / USC News
• Grant awarded to study dental environments / USC News

USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE). The USC entry-level OTD degree program (cost of attendance) has been granted Candidacy Status by ACOTE. View our program’s ACOTE standards public data. ACOTE c/o Accreditation Department, American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929, (301) 652-6611 x2914, acoteonline.org

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for certification by National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT), nbcot.org. Program results from the NBCOT can be found online at secure.nbcot.org/data/schoolstats.aspx.