# Economic Evaluation of School-Based Caries Prevention Programs

> **NIH NIH K25** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $168,480

## Abstract

Abstract The primary goal of this project is to improve oral health care delivery and reduce health inequities by
conducting robust economic evaluations to support decision-making by policymakers and stakeholders. To
achieve this goal, the proposed study has three primary objectives, which are to evaluate how variation in
program design of school-based caries prevention programs (SCPPs) and prior use of dental care impacts (1)
oral health outcomes, (2) use and spending within Medicaid, and (3) the overall cost-effectiveness and budget
impact of SCPPs. This will be done using a novel data linkage between oral health outcomes data from a
pragmatic clinical trial of two multi-site SCPPs and New York Medicaid claims data. Prior systematic reviews of
SCPPs have found significant variation in SCPP program design and implementation. As a result, the
proposed study is critical to identify cost-effective SCPP program designs in real-world settings.
 In support of this research, Dr. Shulamite S. Huang is applying for a K-25 award. Dr. Huang, a health
economist specializing in the study of the dental market at New York University College of Dentistry, is
establishing herself as a young investigator in economic evaluations of dental interventions and oral health
services research. This award will allow Dr. Huang to integrate her background and experience in health
economics and policy evaluation with additional training in clinical research methods and evaluation of clinical
interventions, and work towards reducing health disparities and improving health care delivery and quality.
 In Aim 1, Dr. Huang will determine the impact of SCPPs on oral health outcomes, after accounting for
prior dental care use. As part of this aim, Dr. Huang will link oral health outcomes data from a pragmatic clinical
trial comparing two different SCPP program designs to New York Medicaid/CHIP claims data at the individual
level. In Aim 2, Dr. Huang will evaluate the impact of SCPPs on utilization and spending on care for dental
conditions for children enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP. In Aim 3, Dr. Huang will evaluate the cost-effectiveness and
budget impact of different SCPP program designs relative to a no-SCPP scenario. This research will launch Dr.
Huang’s career in oral health services research, which aims to combine mathematical modeling with large
dataset analyses to study the impact of changes in dental care delivery and payment on large populations.
This work will be in the form of an R01 grant application prior to the completion of the K-award.
 Dr. Huang has assembled a mentoring team comprised of a primary mentor, Dr. Heather Gold, an
expert in population health research and economic evaluations of clinical & behavioral interventions and
Associate Professor at NYU Langone Health and School of Medicine; and one co-mentor, Dr. Richard
Niederman, a dentist and Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion at
NYU College of Dentistry, who conducts the...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10236347
- **Project number:** 5K25DE028584-03
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Shulamite S Huang
- **Activity code:** K25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $168,480
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10236347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10236347, Economic Evaluation of School-Based Caries Prevention Programs (5K25DE028584-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10236347. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*