Stacey Griner, Ph.D., MPH

Research Overview

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine helps prevent oral cavity and oropharyngeal (cancer of the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils) cancers caused by HPV. Because dentists and dental hygienists see patients regularly, they have an important role in helping prevent these cancers. Leading dental and public health organizations have created guidelines to help oral health providers talk with patients about HPV, explain how it is linked to cancer, recommend the vaccine and refer patients to a medical provider to receive it. However, once these guidelines were released, they were not clearly communicated to oral health providers so they could seamlessly incorporate them into their practice.

Our goal is to reduce HPV-related cancers by helping more people get the HPV vaccine during routine dental care. This study will bring together a group of dentists and dental hygienists as an advisory group who will help guide the project. We will learn what makes it easy or hard for dental providers to talk with patients about HPV-related cancer and the HPV vaccine by interviewing dental providers and looking for common challenges and ideas. Alongside our advisory group, we will create simple strategies to help dental teams use the guidelines more easily. Identifying and addressing the barriers oral health providers face in using these guidelines can help more people get vaccinated. With increased HPV vaccinations, fewer people risk developing HPV-related cancers in the future. This project aims to turn everyday dental visits into powerful opportunities to prevent cancer before it starts.

My “Why”

As a dental hygienist since 2009, I screen patients for cancer and educate them about cancer prevention every day. When a patient I referred for evaluation later returns to thank me for helping detect their cancer early—those moments show me the power of a single conversation. If one interaction can change a life, imagine the impact of reaching entire communities. I want to use my oral health training to build public health strategies that improve education, early detection and outcomes for oral and oropharyngeal cancers.

Why Funding Matters

Funding from the Prevent Cancer Foundation will allow me to move these promising HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer prevention strategies from research into real-world clinical practice. As an implementation scientist and dental hygienist, I study how to make prevention work in clinics and communities, not just in manuscripts in academic journals. This support will help me expand community-based programs, translate these results into practice and secure larger federal grants down the line.