3rd Speaker of the Month:

Maryam Tabrizi, DMD

Seminar Title: Oral Health IS Health

Presentation Date: 4/28/2026

Presentation Time: 11:00 AM

Seminar Details: The presentation, titled “Oral Health IS Health,” was delivered in April 2026 by Dr. M. Tabrizi as part of the Azusa Pacific University and UNLV NIHAN project. Its primary objective is to integrate geriatric oral health into the Age-Friendly Health System by utilizing the 4Ms framework—What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. Dr. Tabrizi emphasizes that comprehensive care is impossible without oral health, as conditions like xerostomia (dry mouth), cognitive decline, and medication side effects directly impact an older adult’s overall well-being. The session provides clinical tools, such as a modified oral health status examination, to help non-dental healthcare providers identify risks like oral cancer, ill-fitting prostheses, and malnutrition. Ultimately, the presentation advocates for effective interdisciplinary communication among RNs, PCPs, and family members to ensure that oral care remains a priority in geriatric treatment.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Tabrizi received her DMD in 1991 from Temple University School of Dentistry. She owned her own dental practice in Pennsylvania for 20 years before she left full-time practice and joined her colleagues in dental education. She started teaching at Temple University, where she received her master’s degree in public health. She then moved to Texas after accepting a full-time position at the University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston.

Dr. Tabrizi is a recognized geriatric dentist nationally & internationally. She serves as a member and a leader in multiple local, national, and international organizations on Gerontology and Geriatric oral health.

Dr. Tabrizi has been published in local, national, and international dental Journals. She is an author of many chapters on oral health and on the management of geriatric health, published by Springer, Elsevier, and other reputable publishers. She is a clinician, an educator, a researcher, and an advocate for positive aging. She is a pioneer in integrating oral health and overall health. Developing an oro-systemic health care delivery system in the past 10 years of her career.

Seminar Objectives:

• Define and apply the 4Ms (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility) to ensure oral health is a core component of comprehensive geriatric care.
• Analyze how various medications can alter mouth pH levels and identify these changes as root causes for preventable oral diseases.
• Examine the relationship between increasing cognitive impairment (Mentation) and the heightened risk of developing oral diseases in older adults.
• Recognize physical, mental, and financial barriers—categorized under “Mobility”—that prevent older adults from achieving optimal oral hygiene.
• Utilize standardized assessment tools, such as the modified Kayser-Jones Brief Oral Health Status Examination (BOHSE), to screen for abnormalities like lesions, dry mouth, and ill-fitting prostheses.
• Describe how the absence of oral health within the 4Ms structure can lead to severe systemic outcomes, including malnutrition, undetected oral cancer, and aspiration pneumonia.