Summer 2026 STOHN Newsletter

The South Texas Oral Health Network is seeking your participation in an anonymous Quick Poll about a new idea called dental-legal partnership.

Key Definitions:

- Civil legal needs: everyday legal problems (not criminal matters) that people may face, such as an unfair conviction, unsafe housing conditions, being wrongly denied public benefits like Medicaid or food assistance, or a dispute with an employer.

- Health-harming legal needs: civil legal problems that can hurt a person's health. For example, mold in a rental home that isn't fixed, or losing health coverage after a benefit is denied.

- Medical-legal partnership (MLP): An arrangement in which a health care clinic teams up with free (pro-bono) legal aid lawyers. Clinic staff identify patients facing these legal problems and refer them to the lawyers for help.

Please complete the 5-question quick-poll about dental-legal partnerships. Your response will help determine whether this issue merits further investigation by the STOHN PBRN. Responses are voluntary and anonymous. We will keep you posted about the results of the quick poll.

Quick-Poll Link: https://redcap.link/mplbogix

The South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN) is exploring a potential partnership with the Southwest Community Development Corporation (SCDC), a nonprofit organization that delivers mobile medical, dental, and vision services across San Antonio to individuals and families facing barriers to care.

Through this initiative, volunteers would have the opportunity to support preventive and restorative dental services while helping expand access to oral healthcare in underserved communities. This partnership would allow STOHN to better understand local oral health needs, identify gaps in care, strengthen community engagement, and inform future research and outreach efforts that reflect real-world challenges.

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We are currently seeking 1 volunteer Dentist and 1 Dental Hygienist/Assistant who is local to the San Antonio area and interested in volunteering their time and expertise on July 18th, 2026 from 10:00am - 2:00pm at Life Choices (3234 Northwestern Dr., San Antonio, TX 78238.

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If you are interested/available, please contact Chris Jordan at cjordanscdc@gmail.com!

Together, we can strengthen community partnerships, improve access to care, and support healthier communities across South Texas.

Please contact our Research Coordinator, Caitlin Sangdahl!

Email: sangdahl@uthscsa.edu

Phone: (513) 720-9686

Practitioners Approach to Oral Appliance Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the Impact on Patient Outcomes (PAOSA) Study:

Dr. Mungia, in partnership with Dr. Therese Galang-Boquiren at the University of Illinois Chicago are actively recruiting DSM trained dental practitioners to participate in the PAOSA Study. We need 1 more practitioner to participate in this first of its kind study. Oral Appliance wear compliance data will be collected via Dentitrac® microchips embedded on the sleep appliances. Data will be downloaded onto microchip readers/ appliance docking stations which you will get to keep upon study completion. Sleep data will also be collected through the NightOwl™ disposable home sleep test. We believe this study will create opportunities for subsequent and targeted studies on sleep medicine and contribute to practice-based research that impacts real-world care. You would recruit 6 patients from your practice and receive $80 per patient ($480 total) along with keeping the DentiLink device.

Interested in participating? Email Caitlin Sangdahl HERE

Please contact our Research Coordinator, Caitlin Sangdahl!

Email: sangdahl@uthscsa.edu

Phone: (513) 720-9686

College: University of Texas at San Antonio

Graduation Date: Fall 2026

Future Plans: After finishing her STOHN internship, Ashley plans to continue her degree and graduate in Fall 2026. She is focused on expanding her experience through meaningful hands-on opportunities as she prepares for the application cycle to the dental program at UT Health San Antonio and hopes to become a member of the Class of 2032.

College: University of Texas at Austin

Graduation Date: Spring 2024

Future Plans: After this internship, she plans to continue working over the next year while preparing to apply for dental school. In the meantime, she is excited to explore San Antonio following a recent move and hopefully travel.

This past April, our manuscript discussing cultural smokeless tobacco and patients was chosen and published within the April issue of the Texas Dental Journal. To read the issue, please click HERE!

A new study from the South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN) investigated whether the position of the upper lip's frenum impacts the presence or severity of early childhood cavities. To read the issue, please click HERE!

Online Continuing Education Courses:

Pikos Institute offers a wide variety of Continuing Education courses that can be taken online or in person in Florida. For more information, click HERE.

Free Live Continuing Education Webinars:

The Dental CE Academy offers various online continuing education webinars throughout the year. For more information or to register for one of the upcoming webinars, click HERE.

Certifications:

Certificate of Translational Science Program: This great opportunity is offered through UT Health San Antonio. Our very own director, Dr. Mungia, will be teaching part of the course. For more information, click HERE.

American Dental Association (ADA)

Texas Dental Association (TDA)

If you are aware of any other resources, please contact our Research Coordinator so we can share it with STOHN!