Deborah Polk, PhD is an Associate Professor of Dental Public Health in the School of Dental Medicine and has a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health.
Dr. Polk obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology. After completing a clinical internship, she obtained postdoctoral training in Health Psychology.
She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Although there is no statutory requirement for dentists to follow evidence-informed clinical practice guidelines, guidelines can be considered to reflect best practices. Despite this, studies have shown that dentists face many barriers to providing guideline-concordant care, and patients often do not receive guideline-concordant care. Dr. Polk's lab evaluates the effectiveness of strategies across the oral healthcare system designed to help patients receive guideline-concordant care.
Dr Polk's Current Research
Title: Dental Antibiotic Stewardship: Doctors' Needs
Funded by: Richard King Mellon Foundation
Principal Investigator: Deborah E. Polk, PhD
Description: The Pitt Dental Medicine team, together with UPMC collaborators, aims to improve antibiotic stewardship in dental care. The project will explore practitioners’ adherence to clinical practice guidelines regarding prescribing prophylactic antibiotics and develop effective implementation strategies to increase responsible use of antibiotics.