About

Steven R. Singer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. His main research involves working with chronic orofacial pain patients, with a primary focus on burning mouth syndrome. His research includes investigating sensory function in several orofacial neuropathic pain conditions through quantitative sensory testing (QST), as well as exploring the role of pain modulation in both acute and chronic orofacial pain. Additionally, he studies the effects of exercise-induced hypoalgesia in chronic orofacial pain conditions. Dr. Singer's educational background includes a DDS from the University of Mogi das Cruzes in Brazil and an MSD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. His research projects have evaluated various aspects of pain modulation, including temporal summation, conditioned pain modulation, and the impact of exercise on pain in conditions such as burning mouth syndrome, masticatory myalgia, and post-endodontic pain. His contributions have advanced understanding of pain mechanisms in orofacial conditions and have been published in numerous scientific journals.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Surgery
• Radiology
• Internal medicine
• Microbiology
• Environmental health
• Orthodontics
• Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Intensive care medicine
• Pathology
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Authors’ Response

  The Journal of the American Dental Association · 2025-05-05

  letter
  PublisherDOI

• Artificial Intelligence

  Dental Clinics of North America · 2025-10-15 · 4 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• A Path to Improved Health Care Worker Well-Being: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

  NAM Perspectives · 2025-04-07 · 1 citations

  review
  PublisherDOI

• Diagnostic image legend quality in the oral and maxillofacial radiology published literature: a pilot study.

  PubMed · 2025-02-26

  article

  OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the quality of legends associated with diagnostic images in the published oral and maxillofacial radiology literature using a novel rating scale. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Images and their corresponding legends were randomly selected from published manuscripts over the last 10 years in the Oral Radiology journals, namely Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Imaging Science in Dentistry, Oral Radiology, and Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology Oral Radiology. An Image Legend Quality Scale (ILQS) was introduced to assess the quality of the legends associated with images. A program was developed for the rating scale form using Google Apps Script API to gather and analyze the data. The rating scale ranged from 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest rating. RESULTS: The highest average ILQS rating for one journal was 3.04. The overall ILQS rating average across all four journals was 2.87, which is a 2.13 rating score lower than the ideal score of 5. CONCLUSIONS: There is room for improvement in the legends that accompany diagnostic images and figures in the oral and maxillofacial radiology literature. A proper legend provides an excellent diagnostic teaching opportunity for the reader and enhances the quality of a publication. (Quintessence Int 2025;56:144-152; doi: 10.3290/j.qi.b5907061).

  PublisherDOI

• Asymptomatic unilateral radiopacity in a 59-year-old man

  The Journal of the American Dental Association · 2025-03-17

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Long-term CBCT evaluation of bone volume stability post dental implant placement: 1. Exploring sex as a risk factor.

  PubMed · 2025-07-21

  articleSenior author

  OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study assesses the long-term effects of implants on alveolar and basal bone to determine if a patient's sex affects dimensional changes in the jaw and evaluate whether dental implants halt the atrophy of bone when compared to no post-extraction intervention. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for this study. Of the 125 patients (432 sites) in the study, 53% were women. All had two CBCTs taken, an average of 4.7 years apart. The scans were divided into three groups. In the control group, the extraction site (first CBCT, T1) was not replaced when the second scan was taken (T2). Group 2 had no implant at T1 and an implant at T2. Group 3 had an implant at T1 and T2. Measurements were made from landmarks at predetermined levels (superior cortex of the inferior alveolar nerve or the most inferior point in the nasal floor in the direction of the crest of bone height (control group and groups 2 and 3). To avoid osseous changes due to placement, measurements were made from the inferior alveolar nerve for mandibular implants or the nasal floor for maxillary implants. Recognizing sex-based disparities in jaw size, percentage changes in bone were monitored. RESULTS: Loss of alveolar bone width across all groups was common. When bivariate analysis was performed after Bonferroni correction (P .025), changes in alveolar bone width were significantly greater in women (P = .004). Although the loss in the basal bone was present, it was not significant between the sexes nor as great as alveolar bone resorption (P = .880). When comparing groups using bivariate analysis, differences were not statistically significant between treatment groups and the control group (P = .050) for basal bone and for alveolar bone (P = .052). In the regression analysis for sex or group, neither was statistically significant for either basal or alveolar bone (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Dental implants do not arrest post-extraction atrophy in either alveolar or basal bone. Women exhibited a statistically greater rate of alveolar bone loss. Stable long-term implant success necessitates precise placement.

  PublisherDOI

• Multiple system atrophy presenting as oromandibular dystonia and bruxism

  The Journal of the American Dental Association · 2025-11-01 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Interventions to Reduce Food and Nutrition Insecurity Among Dental Students

  Journal of Dental Education · 2025-02-09 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of food insecurity (FI) on university campuses is increasing. This study explored the prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity (NI) among dental students and barriers and interventions to address them. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted. Validated tools were used to assess FI and NI. Univariate binary logistic regressions and a multivariable logistic regression model identified factors independently associated with FI. RESULTS: The response rate was 11.9% (n = 67). The mean age was 28.4 years; 67% were D1/D2 students; 53.7% were female, 15.2% identified as Hispanic, and 50.7% as White. Forty percent experienced FI; 24.2% had low nutrition security (NS), and 26.9% reported partial or full responsibility for others' living expenses. Twenty-four percent were married, 25.8% used a food pantry; 11.1% had unsuccessfully applied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. In the adjusted model, low NS, nonmarried status, and food pantry use increased the likelihood of FI (odds ratios of 16.854, 10.182, and 9.123, respectively). Common barriers and potential interventions to address FI and NI were explored. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of FI in this sample was greater than the national average. Those who were unmarried, had low NS, and used a food pantry were significantly more likely to have FI. Proposed interventions include student services enhancements and curriculum modifications on nutrition and wellness. Further research is necessary with a larger sample to understand factors contributing to NI and FI among dental students.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Associations between periodontal disease severity and selected cardiometabolic risk factors.

  PubMed · 2025 · 2 citations

  • Medicine
  • Environmental health
  • Dentistry

  OBJECTIVES: The objective was to explore associations between periodontal disease severity and cardiometabolic risk factors, including body mass index, age, Type 2 diabetes mellitus risk, sex, and hypertension in patients at an urban dental school clinic. METHOD AND MATERIALS: A cross-sectional study design was used to analyze electronic health record data, including periodontal status, demographic characteristics, cardiometabolic risk factors and the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Risk Test (DRT) score. Chi-square tests and ordinal logistic regression were conducted using SAS 9.4. RESULTS: Of those with available data (n = 6,778), 44% were male, 70.2% were overweight/obese, and the mean age was 50.9 (SD = 16.6) years. Associations between PD severity and body mass index, sex, age, DRT score, and hypertension were statistically significant (all P .0001) in bivariate analyses. Using logistic regression, hypertension (P = .0006), sex (P .0001), and age (P .0001) were significant predictors of severe periodontal disease, which was most common in those with hypertension (35.9%), males (31.7%), and those > 60 years (36.6%). The odds of having severe periodontal disease for those with hypertension were 1.2 times that of those without hypertension. Males were 1.7 times more likely to have severe periodontal disease than females. Those aged 40 to 49 years, 50 to 59 years, and > 60 years were 2.9, 4.2, and 4.3 times more likely to have severe periodontal disease than those who were 18 to 39 years, respectively. CONCLUSION: All cardiometabolic risk factors were associated with periodontal disease severity in bivariate analyses. In the logistic regression model, being older, male, and having hypertension were significant predictors of periodontal disease severity. Future research is needed with a more diverse sample.

  PublisherDOI

• Exploring Associations Between Tooth Loss and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2024-06-29

  articleOpen access

  Objectives: To explore associations between tooth loss (number of remaining teeth (NRT), and functional dentition (FD)) and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) factors (age, gender, race, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), physical activity (PA), smoking status, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), stroke, and cardiovascular disease (CVD)). Methods: Cross-sectional secondary analysis of patients aged 18-89 years receiving routine care at an urban Northeast US school of dental medicine clinics between January 1, 2020, and June 1, 2023. Associations between tooth loss and CMR factors including age, gender, race, ethnicity, BMI, smoking, self-reported history of DM, HTN, stroke, and CVD were explored. Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, chi-square, and Spearman’s correlation tests were utilized. Results: The sample (N = 32,564) was 67.7% 40 years or older, 51.7% female, 69.9% overweight or obese, 51.7% White/Caucasian, 41.6% Black/African American, and 70.3% non-Hispanic/non-Latino. The median NRT was 26.0; 75.7% had FD. Fewer teeth and lack of FD were positively associated with older age, White/Caucasian or Black/African American race, non-Hispanic/non-Latino ethnicity, BMI≥25 kg/m2, smoking, and history of DM, HTN, Stroke, and CVD (all Ps < 0.001). There was a moderate negative correlation between the NRT and older age (r = - 0.585, P< 0.001), and a weak negative correlation between NRT and higher BMI (r = -0.055, P< 0.001). Tooth loss was not associated with gender. Conclusions: Tooth loss was positively associated with older age, race, ethnicity, higher BMI, smoking, and history of DM, HTN, stroke, and CVD. Further research on associations between tooth loss, BMI, and other CMR factors is necessary to enhance the generalizability of these findings. Funding Sources: None.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Mel Mupparapu

  Penn Center for AIDS Research

  53 shared

• Riva Touger‐Decker

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  16 shared

• Adriana G. Creanga

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  16 shared

• Rena Zelig

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  14 shared

• J.V. KRACKE

  University of Rochester

  9 shared

• Maxine Strickland

  9 shared

• Luciano Rodrigo Peres

  Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual

  9 shared

• Mel Mupparapu

  University of Pennsylvania

  9 shared

Labs

• Cibele Nasri-Heir LaboratoryPI

Education

• DDS

  New York University College of Dentistry

  1982