Professor Sarah Baker

BSc (Hons) Psychology, PhD, Chartered Psychologist, AFBPsS, FCGDent

School of Clinical Dentistry

Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry

Head of Academic Unit of Oral Health, Dentistry and Society

Sarah Baker
Profile picture of Sarah Baker
s.r.baker@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 215 9312
19 Claremont Crescent

Full contact details

Professor Sarah Baker
School of Clinical Dentistry
19 Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA
Profile

I received my PhD in Health Psychology in 1994 and have been a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society since 2002. In 2005, I moved into the field of oral health taking up a position as Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield. I am currently a Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry (since 2014).

In 2018, I was the recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award for Behavioural, Epidemiological and Health Services Research from the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). This is the most highly prestigious award given by IADR and is designed to recognise outstanding achievements in the areas of behavioural science and health services research as they relate to dentistry. 

I am also the three-times winner in 2013, 2016 and 2022 of the IADR Giddon Award for Distinguished Research in Behavioural Sciences.  The Giddon Award recognises the best paper internationally in the fields of social or cultural anthropology, education, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and social work applied to dentistry:

2022: McNeil DW, Randall CL, Baker SR, Borrelli B, Burgette JM, Gibson B, Heaton LJ, Kitsaras G, McGrath C, Newton JT. Consensus Statement on Future Directions for the Behavioural and Social Sciences in Oral Health. Journal of Dental Research 2022; 101: 619-622.

2016: Baker SR, Gibson BJ. Social Oral Epidemi(olog)2y -Where next: one small step or one giant leap? Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 2014; 42: 481-494.

2013: Nammontri O, Robinson PG, Baker SR. Enhancing Oral Health via Sense of Coherence: A Cluster-randomized Trial. Journal of Dental Research 2013; 92: 26-31.

In 2024, I was awarded the IADR Women in Science Award for Distinguished Female Mentor. This award recognises excellence in mentorship by a female researcher who has made a significant impact on other women’s careers in the area of Dental, Oral, or Craniofacial Research. 

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Psychology

PhD in Psychology

Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)

Associate Fellow, British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)

Fellow, College of General Dentistry (FCGDent)

Research interests

My research interests centre on the application of psychological theories, methods and techniques to address key questions in oral health and the field of dentistry.

Since moving into Dentistry in 2005, I have led and collaborated in multidisciplinary teams of researchers and academics across the world including Libya, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, USA, Norway and Germany, as well as within the UK and Ireland. These collaborations have been in a range of areas within the oral and dental field, including

  • clinical, psychological and social determinants and impacts of oral health
  • child and family adjustment to cleft lip and palate
  • young people’s experience of orthodontic and orthognathic conditions and the treatment pathway
  • development and evaluation of person-centred outcome measures for oral health including, dentine hypersensitivity, dry mouth, dentures, and gum health
  • development and evaluation of school oral health promotion interventions
  • cross-country comparison of structural (upstream) determinants of children’s oral health
  • oral health inequalities and barriers to dental care
  • inclusion of underserved populations in oral health research
  • life-course approaches to oral health
  • developing, testing and implementing theoretical frameworks in oral health research
  • barriers and facilitators to implementing research findings in dental practice
  • systems science approaches to Wicked Problems in oral health
  • critical evaluation of the use of evidence in population oral health
  • critical dental public health and social oral epidemiology
Publications

Journal articles

Chapters

Research group

I am part of the Transforming Oral Health Research Group in the School of Clinical Dentistry. External to the University, I am a member of many research teams and committees both nationally and internationally. 

Current PhD students

  • Mohammed Khan: Understanding oral self-care practices as an activity of daily living: A mixed methods ergonomic and ethnographic study with older independent living adults (2023-present)
  • Ziyad Alaskar: Cognitive behavioural therapy for the reduction of dental fear and anxiety among children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2022-present)
  • Jenny Harris: The role of the dental team in safeguarding children and managing dental neglect (2024-present (part-time))
  • Hanieh Javidi: Does Orthodontics Improve Oral Health-Related Quality of Life? A Cohort Study (2017-present (part-time))

Past PhD students

  • Susan Hill: Illness perceptions of people with hand problems: A population survey and focus group enquiry (2006)
  • Paul Brocklehurst: What effects the decision to refer an oral soft tissue lesion from primary to secondary care? (2009)
  • Amdah Mat: Child oral health-related quality of life in Malaysia (2010)
  • Jenny Porritt: Childhood dental trauma: A resiliency model of adjustment (2010)
  • Orachad Gururatana: The impact of screening for oral disease and provision of simple restorations on oral health-related quality of life of children in Thailand (2011)
  • Orawan Nammontri: The effect of an intervention to enhance sense of coherence on oral health-related quality of life: An exploratory study (2012)
  • Yvonne-Oliva Stocker: A qualitative exploration of cultural issues associated with surgery to change facial appearance: Private and public views of orthognathics and the acceptability of appearance altering surgery (2013)
  • Marta Krasuska: Exploring response shift in relation to dentine sensitivity (2014)
  • Ekta Gupta: The determinants of oral health-related quality of life in adults (2014)
  • Joe Hulin: Decision aids in paediatric dental sedation: helping children choose what is right for them (2015)
  • Eamar Al Gtewi: Exploring the use and role of online support groups for head and neck cancer (2015)
  • Karthik Periyakaruppiah: Do coping strategies of patients determine denture success to improve oral health-related quality of life? (2017)
  • Tom Broomhead: Spatial inequalities in oral health (2017)
  • Zaid Ali: Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Removable Partial Denture Treatments for the Replacement of Missing Teeth (2018)
  • Ninu Paul: Factors which predict better resilience following orthognathic surgery (2018)
  • Andrew Rawlinson: Periodontal Treatment and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (2020)
  • Magdalena Uerlich: Obesity and dental caries: More commonalities than just diet? (2020)
  • Maram Alwadi: The inclusion of disability in oral health research (2021)
  • Seham Mohammed: Oral health, school attendance and school performance: A prospective, longitudinal study (2022)
  • Thitika Kimise: The informal market for ‘fashion braces (2023)
  • Carolina Venda Nova: Defining core outcome set in Trigeminal Neuralgia (UCL; 2023)
  • Arisa Srikong: The impact of dry mouth on oral health quality of life and well-being (2024)
Grants

Current and recent funding (since 2018)

  1. The Oral Health Observatory: Data analysis, Intepretation and Advocacy. Baker SR (PI) 2024-2025. Haleon
  2. Psychometric validation of the denture experience questionnaire. Gibson B (PI). 2024.  Haleon.
  3. The development of an oral health-related quality of life measure for adults with learning disabilities. Bird J (PI). 2022-2023. National Institute of Health Research, In-Practice Fellowship
  4. Social practices of oral health in Australian preschool children. Slack-Smith L (PI). 2021-2024. Australian research Council.
  5. toothPASTE - emPowering fAmilies of young children with autiSm to esTablish good oral hEalth habits. Day, P (PI) 2021-2023. National Institute of Health Research, Research for Patient Benefit. 
  6. The CALM trial: the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a guided self-help cognitive behavioural therapy intervention to reduce dental anxiety in children. Marshman Z (PI). 2021-2025. National Institute of Health Research, Health Technology Assessment.
  7. Using role-substitution In care homes to improve oral health (SENIOR). Brocklehurst P. 2020-2024. National Institute of Health Research, Health Services and Delivery Research.
  8. Living with removable partial dentures. Gibson B (PI). 2021-2023. Haleon. 
  9. Psychometric validation of the gum health experience questionnaire. Baker SR (PI). 2020-2021. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.
  10. Oral Health Observatory: Linking patient, dentist and clinic data for national datasets. Baker SR (PI). 2019-2020. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and FDI World Dental Congress.
  11. Trigeminal Neuralgia: determining the core outcomes and measurements for all treatments. Nova C (PI). Rosetrees Trust and Trigeminal Nerve Association. 2019-2022.
  12. Partial removal of dentinal caries in permanent teeth. Clarkson J (PI). National Institute of Health Research, Health Technology Assessment. 2019-2024.
  13. Reasons for variations in child hospital admissions for dental caries in England. Marshman Z (PI). Public Health England. 2018-2019.
  14. Development of a gum-related quality of life measure. Baker SR (PI). GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. 2018-2019.
  15. Does Orthodontics Improve Oral Health-Related Quality of Life? A Cohort Study. Benson P (PI). Royal College of Surgeons and British Orthodontic Society Dental Surgery Research Fellowship (Hanieh Javidi). 2017-2023.
Teaching interests

Research Methods

Communication Skills

Health Psychology

Social and Behavioural Sciences Applied to Dentistry

Teaching activities
  • I have responsibility for the development, teaching and assessment of communication skills within the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) undergraduate curriculum (Years 1-5).
  • I am module lead for the Masters in Dental Public Health (MDPH) dissertation module.
  • I am module lead for the Masters in Dental Public Health (MDPH) Research Methods in Clinical Dentistry module.
Professional activities and memberships

Editor-in-Chief, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (2021-present)

CDOE is the flagship international journal for Dental Public Health and Community Dentistry (established 1973) published by Wiley. I am the first female Editor-in-Chief of CDOE and the first social scientist to become Editor-in-Chief of a Dentistry, Oral Surgery and Medicine journal.

International Advisory Group, NIHR Global Health Group on Oral Health (NIHR132731) (2023-2027)

The Global Health Group is funded to address the neglect of oral diseases in middle-income countries; Colombia, Kenya, India and Brazil. The research programme is in collaboration with the National University of Colombia, The University of Nairobi, Jamia Millia Islamia University (India), Public Health Foundation India, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (India), Pernambuco University (Brazil) and the Federal University of Pelotas (Brazil). The Advisory Group consists of nine experts in global health, dentistry, or community health to provide independent strategic advice through various stages of the research programme.

Oral Health Observatory Task Team, World Dental Federation (Federation Dentaire International, FDI) (2022-present)

The Oral Health Observatory (OHO) was launched in 2014 to generate standardized data on oral health. The goals are to: Collect standardized oral health data on a global level; Evaluate the oral healthcare needs of patients and dental practitioners at national and global levels to optimize service provision; Use data to identify oral health trends and influence policymakers to invest in oral diseases to improve overall health outcomes. Details here: (https://www.fdiworlddental.org/oral-health-observatory).

Other professional activities 

  • Advisory Board, Adult Oral Health Standard Set Validation Study, World Dental Federation (Federation Dentaire International, FDI) (2019-present)
  • Trial Steering Committee, ‘Changing Habits tO Prevent ChIld CariEs: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Family-Focused Therapeutic Conversation Delivered by Dental Nurses in Primary Care’ (CHOICE). NIHR Health Technology Assessment (NIHR131817) (2021-2026)
  • Programme Steering Committee, ‘InteRventions to rEduce inequaliTies in the Uptake of Routine deNtal care (RETURN)’. NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research (RP-PG-0616-20004) (2018-2024)
  • Honorary Professor, University College London (2019-present)
  • Peer Review College, UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships (UKRI FLF) programme (2018-present)
  • Editorial Board, Evidence-Based Dentistry (2020-present)
  • Editorial Board, Community Dental Health (2017-present)
  • IADR Distinguished Scientist Award Sub-Committee (2018-2024)
  • Council Member and Research Lead, British Association Society Community Dentistry (BASCD) (2020-2023)
  • President (2013-2014), Past President (2014-2016), Program Chair (2011-12), Symposium Organiser (2010-2011, 2017-2018) and Executive committee member (2010-2019), Behavioural, Epidemiologic and Health Services Research Group (BEHSR), International Association for Dental Research (IADR)
  • Associate Editor and Editorial Board, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (2010-2021)
  • Editorial Board, International Dental Journal (2018-2023)

Invited international and national lectures and keynotes (2019-2023)

  • ‘Spotlight on tooth sensitivity: Breaking down barriers’, Haleon Global Webinar. Invited Speaker and Discussant. London, November 2023
  • ‘Celebrating Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 50th Anniversary Year’. Joint 37th IADR Southeast Asian Division Annual Scientific Meeting and 2nd International Oral Health Symposium. Invited Speaker and Discussant. Singapore, November 2023
  • ‘Editor’s Symposium: The future of Dental Research’. British Society of Dental Research. Invited Speaker and Discussant. London, September 2023
  • ‘Practice-based oral health dentist and patient-reported data from six countries: India, Japan, China, Lebanon, Colombia and Italy’. Standardised Practice-Based Data for Oral Health Advocacy Symposium. 101st International Association of Dental Research Conference. Bogota, June 2023
  • ‘Overview and key data insights from Colombia’. FDI World Dental Congress Oral Health Observatory Workshop in conjunction with the Colombian Dental Federation. Bogota, June 2023
  • ‘Are we there yet? The contribution of social and behavioural sciences to oral health’. BSODR and BASCD 50th and 70th Anniversary Celebration Webinar. Guiding Star Invited Speaker, April 2023
  • ‘Overview and key data insights from India’. FDI World Dental Congress Oral Health Observatory Workshop. Invited Speaker and Discussant. Mumbai, February 2023
  • ‘Are we there yet? The contribution of social and behavioural sciences to oral health’. IADR Australian/New Zealand Division (ANZ/IADR) Conference, Invited Keynote, Colgate Eminent Speaker, Melbourne, Australia, September 2022
  • ‘Value of interdisciplinary research and patient-centred research in the context of Dentistry’ Faculty of Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of England, Invited Lecture, June 2022
  • ‘Top tips for writing a journal article’, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Invited Lecture, March 2022
  • ‘Conversations of Steele: Oral health inequalities’. Inaugural Event in Celebration of Professor Jimmy Steele. Invited Speaker and discussant, University of Newcastle, February 2022. 
  • ‘What is the psychological value of orthodontic treatment’ Orthodontic Society of Ireland, Invited Lecture, January 2022
  • ‘Complex Systems Science in Dental Research: Why? When?’ International Centre for Oral Health Inequalities Research and Policy, Invited Lecture, November 2020
  • ‘Improving oral health: Realising the contribution of Social and Behavioural Sciences’. Keynote Lecture, 97th General Assembly International Association of Dental Research, Vancouver, June 2019
  • 'Complex Systems Science in Dental Research: Why? When?’ International Centre for Oral Health Inequalities Research and Policy, Invited Lecture, November 2020
  • ‘Improving oral health: Realising the contribution of Social and Behavioural Sciences’. Keynote Lecture, 97th General Assembly International Association of Dental Research, Vancouver, June 2019

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