tasmit01@uky.edu

Dr. Smith is conducting research in two major areas. First, he is interested in the development, impact, and treatment of dental fear and anxiety. He has participated in research on anxiety's impact on patient sedation and the impact of new dental technology, such as lasers, on patient pain and anxiety. He has formed a network of dental practitioners to treat dental fear. His training in statistics has been used in studies of methods of measuring dental anxiety. Second, for thirty years, Dr. Smith has studied the effectiveness of educational technology. He currently is directing and evaluating a distance learning post-doctoral program for practicing dentists using a two-way compressed television network developed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Spina, A.M., Smith, T.A., Marcinai, R.D., and Marshall, E.O. A survey of resident selection procedures in oral and maxillofacial surgery, J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg., 58:660-666, 2000.

Dionne, R., Yagiela, J., Moore, P., Gonty, A., Zuniga, J., and Bierne, R. for the Collaborative Sedation Study Group. Comparing efficacy and safety of four intravenous sedation regimens in dental outpatients, J. Amer. Dent. Assoc., 132:740-751, 2001.

Skelton, J., Mullins, M., Kaplan, A., West, K., and Smith, T. University of Kentucky community-based field experience: program description, J. Dent. Educ., 65(11):1238-1242, 2001.

Skelton, J., Smith, T., Betz, W., and Heaton, L. Improving the oral health knowledge of osteopathic medical students, J. Dent. Educ., 66(11): 1289-1296, 2002.

Marciani, R., Smith, T., and Heaton, L. Applicants' opinions about the selection process for oral and maxillofacial surgery programs, J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg., 61: 608-614, 2003.

Smith, T. and Heaton, L. Dental fear: are we making any progress? J. Amer. Dent. Assoc., in press.