Brenda Heaton, PhD, MPH
Adjunct Associate Professor
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Health Policy & Health Svcs Research

PhD, Boston University School of Public Health
MPH, Boston University School of Public Health
BS, Brigham Young University



Brenda Heaton, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor jointly appointed in the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, Boston University. Her research interests include a focus on the social production of oral health, with an overall goal of addressing the complex mechanisms responsible for the emergence of oral health disparities. In support of these interests, she is the principal investigator on four currently active research grants from the NIDCR, including two 5-year R01 research grant awards aimed at studying the potential role of caregivers' social networks, including network-based interventions, in mitigating social disparities in oral health among young children. In addition to mapping and generating social network data, this work includes the development of dynamic computational models that facilitate experimental simulations of hypothetical public health interventions. Heaton also maintains scholarship and collaborations in the area of periodontal disease with interests in the validity of clinical and self-report measures for population-level research and in the potential for causal associations between periodontal disease and other chronic disease outcomes, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and perinatal outcomes.

Brenda Heaton has a wide range of experience conducting oral health research among less advantaged and minority populations, particularly residents of public housing, in her role as a co-investigator with the Center for Research to Evaluate and Eliminate Dental Disparities (www.creedd.org). She has also worked with American Indian/Alaska Native populations in addressing Early Childhood Caries through NIDCR-funded work with the California Tribal Epidemiology Center (CTEC). She maintains collaborations with the Black Women's Health Study to study predictors and consequences of poor oral health among this cohort.

She serves as a faculty member in the Dental Public Health postgraduate and residency program at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, has been a faculty research fellow at the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing & Computational Sciences and Engineering, and leads the Hariri-funded Focused Research Program in Simulation Modeling for Population Health (FY 2022). She is an active member of the Behavioral, Epidemiology and Health Services Research Scientific Group of the International Association for Dental Research and is completing a three-year term as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research.

Associate Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Epidemiology


Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research




Social networks and oral health-related risk behaviors in public housing communities
08/15/2018 - 07/31/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Brenda Heaton, PhD, MPH
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
5R01DE027985-05

Women's oral health in the preconception period: correlates and consequences
06/01/2022 - 04/30/2024 (Key Person / Mentor)
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
5F31DE031969-02

Modeling Complex Mechanisms Underlying Oral Health Disparities In Young Children And Their Caregivers
09/21/2021 - 08/31/2023 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
5R01DE030302-02

Photo-enhanced messaging to address dietary sugars as a common risk factor for chronic disease
08/01/2019 - 07/31/2023 (Multi-PI)
PI: Brenda Heaton, PhD, MPH
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
5R21DE028993-02

Complex Systems Science Approaches to Addressing Oral Health Disparities
09/01/2018 - 08/31/2022 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
5R00DE025917-05

Complex systems science approaches to oral health disparities
09/01/2016 - 08/31/2018 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research
5K99DE025917-02



Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2024 Advancing oral health equity through integrating patient, provider, and population-based approaches 1R35DE034352-01
2023 Modeling Complex Mechanisms Underlying Oral Health Disparities in Young Children and Their Caregivers 7R01DE030302-03
2023 Preconception periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes in a prospective cohort of pregnancy planners 1R03DE033133-01
2022 Social networks and oral health-related risk behaviors in public housing communities 5R01DE027985-05
2021 Modeling Complex Mechanisms Underlying Oral Health Disparities in Young Children and Their Caregivers 1R01DE030302-01A1
2021 Social networks and oral health-related risk behaviors in public housing communities 5R01DE027985-04
2020 Photo-enhanced messaging to address dietary sugars as a common risk factor for chronic disease 5R21DE028993-02
2020 Complex Systems Science Approaches to Addressing Oral Health Disparities 5R00DE025917-05
2020 Social networks and oral health-related risk behaviors in public housing communities 5R01DE027985-03
2019 Photo-enhanced messaging to address dietary sugars as a common risk factor for chronic disease 1R21DE028993-01
Showing 10 of 15 results. Show All Results

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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  1. Bond JC, Simancas-Pallares MA, Divaris K, Garcia RI, Fox MP, Wise LA, Heaton B. Preconception Oral Health Is Associated with Modifiable Health Behaviors. J Dent Res. 2025 Apr 20; 220345251325216.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40254774
     
  2. Velez M, Heaton B, Solar C, Fuertes Y, Borrelli B, Garcia RI, Quintiliani LM. Perceptions of dietary sugar consumption among public housing residents using a modified qualitative photovoice methodology. BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 08; 25(1):1313.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40200242; PMCID: PMC11978198; DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-22391-2;
     
  3. Wright CD, Salman A, Garcia RI, McNeil DW, Heaton B. Cross-Sectional Clinical Validation of the Periodontal Disease Self-Report Measure. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2025 Apr 07. PMID: 40191976
     
  4. Casey SM, Velez M, McDonough R, Bond JC, Garcia R, Gondal N, Heaton B. Modelling Predictors of Homophily on Perceived Oral Health Status Among Social Network Ties in a Population of Public Housing Residents. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2025 Jun; 53(3):329-336.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40007459; PMCID: PMC12064868; DOI: 10.1111/cdoe.13034;
     
  5. Williams JC, Singhal A, Gates P, Jura M, Mertz E, Heaton B. Relationship between Safety-net Oral Health Care Practices and Income among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic/Latino Dentists. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2025; 36(1):144-166.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39957643; DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2025.a951590;
     
  6. Bond JC, Heaton B, White KO, Abrams JA, Kuohung W, Fisher RR, Wesselink AK, Fox MP, Wise LA. Female sexual function and distress and time-to-pregnancy in a prospective preconception cohort. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2025 Apr; 232(4):375.e1-375.e24.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39374749; PMCID: PMC11949713; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.09.117;
     
  7. Bond JC, Heaton B, Garcia RI, Rothman KJ, Wise LA, Fox MP, Murray EJ. Specifying a target trial protocol to estimate the effect of preconception treatment of periodontitis on time-to-pregnancy: A commentary and applied example. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2025 Apr; 53(2):125-134.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39169475; PMCID: PMC11842691; DOI: 10.1111/cdoe.13000;
     
  8. Bond JC, Casey SM, McDonough R, McLone SG, Velez M, Heaton B. Validity of individual self-report oral health measures in assessing periodontitis for causal research applications. J Periodontol. 2024 Sep; 95(9):892-906.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38197131; PMCID: PMC11483464; DOI: 10.1002/JPER.23-0551;
     
  9. Bond JC, Fox MP, Wise LA, Heaton B. Quantitative Assessment of Systematic Bias: A Guide for Researchers. J Dent Res. 2023 Nov; 102(12):1288-1292.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37786916; PMCID: PMC10714380; DOI: 10.1177/00220345231193314;
     
  10. Bond JC, Wise LA, Fox MP, Garcia RI, Murray EJ, White KO, Rothman KJ, Hatch EE, Heaton B. Preconception Periodontitis and Risk of Spontaneous Abortion in a Prospective Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2023 Sep 01; 192(9):1509-1521.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37339008; PMCID: PMC10666963; DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwad142;
     
Showing 10 of 48 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 48 publications over 14 distinct years, with a maximum of 9 publications in 2023

YearPublications
20122
20131
20141
20151
20161
20173
20184
20192
20204
20218
20224
20239
20243
20255


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