Cynthia Stull, DHSc, MDH, RDH

Cynthia Stull, DHSc, MDH is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Division of Dental Hygiene, encompassing three separate programs. Stull received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Dental Hygiene degrees from the University of Minnesota. She received her Doctor of Health Sciences from A.T. Still University. 

To address the current faculty shortage, Cynthia established the distinctive Oral Health Educator Certificate program to train dental providers with the skills and confidence for teaching. Passionate about the integration of dental hygiene on healthcare teams, she developed a novel hospital dental hygiene consult service which now has four trained collaborative practice hospital dental hygienists. Cynthia has also facilitated the integration of a collaborative practice dental hygienist on a team that provides comprehensive care for the unique healthcare needs of adopted and foster care children who have experienced early adversity. As administrator for both of these services, Cynthia works with other healthcare providers to elevate the dental hygiene profession as an integral member of healthcare teams to meet the oral health needs of vulnerable populations. 

In step, she has created forward-looking curricular experiences for students, emphasizing interprofessional practice and the integration of dental hygiene and medicine. Students learn from these experiences how to collaborate as a healthcare professional for improved patient outcomes. Cynthia’s teaching responsibilities span all three programs teaching courses in interprofessional education, leadership, the disciplines of dental hygiene, and clinical teaching. 

Cynthia’s research contributions include the integration of dental hygienists on health care teams and the expanded role of dental providers in human papillomavirus-related oropharyngeal cancer prevention and screening through motivational interviewing strategies, cutting edge virtual reality and simulation training, and innovative imaging devices.  

Dr. Stull is a member of the American Dental Education Association, the American Dental Hygiene Association, the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative, and the Minnesota Oral Health Coalition.