Course Information
Preparing Effective Professionals: Establishing a Foundation in Community Oral Health
Course Date: Saturday, July 19, 2025Time: 9:00 AM
Division: Dental Public Health and Community Outreach
Course registration number: 1.0-5287-25008
CE Unit(s): This course meets the Dental Board of California's requirements for 1 unit(s) of continuing education.
Description:
The webinar will discuss how the Online/Hybrid Community Oral Health MS and Certificate programs, at Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, prepares graduates to lead, innovate, and assess oral health initiatives through a strong foundation in evaluation, assessment, and behavioral science. Attendees will learn how this focused formal education equips and prepares professionals to apply evidence-based strategies to address community oral health issues and challenges in both dental and public health settings.
Objective:
1. Explain why evidence-based practices, including evaluation and health behavior theories, provide a foundation for designing effective community oral health education methods and strategies.
2. Describe how graduates of the Herman Ostrow Community Oral Health Program are prepared to navigate and support community health initiatives within existing policy frameworks.
3. Identify the value in evidence-based competencies to improve communication, credibility, and leadership in community oral health education and public health roles.
Itinerary:
9am-10am PDT
Presentation + Q&A
Speaker(s):
Rebecca Ortiz Bodensteiner, MAT, RDHAP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Dentistry, Special Patient, Geriatric and Behavioral Dentistry.
Rebecca Ortiz Bodensteiner has a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene and a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Southern California. She is licensed as a Registered Dental Hygienist and Registered Dental Hygienist Alternative Practice. She works in the Special Patients Clinic at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry and is part of the faculty team for Ostrow’s Online Programs.
Maya Fulcher, MS, BSDH, RDH, CHES
Maya obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Hygiene from the USC School of Dentistry in 2003. After graduation, she worked as clinical faculty for dental hygiene, PBL, and traditional dental students. She returned to Ostrow in 2023 and recently completed a Master Degree in Community Oral Health. She works in a private periodontal practice, is active in leadership for the Los Angeles Dental Hygienists’ Society, and serves as the Los Angeles Trustee for the California Dental Hygienists’ Association. Maya has recently returned to clinical instruction at USC, working with Dr. Sanaz “Sunny” Fereshteh at MDC and Carlos Sanchez in the neighborhood sealant van.
Anthony Santiago Soto, MS, CHES, CAPM
Anthony Santiago Soto is a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He has a Master of Science in Community Oral Health from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California (USC). As a Project Specialist, Anthony contributes to the Mobile Dental Clinic’s mission of providing free dental services to underserved communities throughout California, ranging from Bakersfield to Escondido. Anthony is pursuing certifications in project management and health education and plans to attend medical school to receive his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. Ultimately, Anthony aims to combine his experience in community oral health, program management, and medicine to advocate for medical-dental integration and interdisciplinary collaboration on factors beyond healthcare that perpetuate health disparities.
