Tomar Awarded FDHA’s Presidential Oral Health Hero Award

Photo of Dr. Scott Tomar
Scott Tomar, D.M.D., M.P.H.

University of Florida College of Dentistry Professor and Chair of the Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science Scott Tomar, D.M.D., M.P.H., was one of two recipients of the Florida Dental Hygienists’ Association (FDHA) Presidential Oral Health Hero Award.

The award, given at FDHA’s Symposium in Orlando in September, recognized Tomar’s dedication and support to advancing the mission and goals of the FDHA by increasing the awareness of oral health in Florida, and advocating for the public’s access to quality oral health care.

The FDHA’s mission is to serve the public by advancing the art and science of dental hygiene, increasing awareness of and improving access to quality health care; promoting the highest standards of dental hygiene education, licensure, and practice; and representing the profession of dental hygiene. Core values include: service, health, excellence, community and ethics.

As a public health dentist and oral epidemiologist, Tomar’s research interests involve the understanding and control of modifiable risk factors for disease in populations. A primary area of interest is tobacco use and its effects on oral health, including tobacco-associated oral diseases, the epidemiology of tobacco use, and improving the outcomes for people with oral cancer — a disease largely associated with tobacco use. Much of Tomar’s recent work involves public health surveillance for oral diseases and conditions and increasing access to prevention services in vulnerable communities.

Dr. Tomar pictured with 2016-17 FDHA President-Elect, Sue Kassoff-Correia.