Benjamin Chaffee, DDS, MPH, PhD

Assistant Professor
Preventive & Restor Dent Sci
+1 415 476-9226

The overarching goal of our team’s epidemiologic research program is to understand how various behaviors, biological attributes, and social circumstances influence health and disease distributions, often inequitably, across populations. Application of such knowledge aims to inform future public health practices, health policies, and clinical guidelines that elevate the health of patients and vulnerable communities. A research focus has been understanding tobacco use perceptions and behaviors among adolescents, particularly new and emerging products and in the context of evolving tobacco regulatory policies. Other areas of interest include engaging dental professionals in providing patients with tobacco cessation support, early-life experiences in relation to childhood oral health, and prevention-focused, patient-tailored approaches to manage oral disease.

Publications: 

Patterns in Tobacco, E-Cigarette, and Cannabis Advertising Exposure Among California Adolescents and Associations With Future Use Expectations.

Substance use & misuse

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Donaldson CD, Farooq O, Cheng NF, Ameli N, Zhang X, Gansky SA

Impact of survey item wording on reported tobacco use among youth: effect of adding ‘even one or two puffs’ to use questions.

International Journal of Social Research Methodology

Benjamin W. Chaffee, Lauren M. Dutra, Candice D. Donaldson, Elizabeth T. Couch, Omara Farooq, Xueying Zhang, Stuart A. Gansky

Must Dentists Be the “Bad Guy?”.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Benjamin W. Chaffee

Community of Practice for Dental Providers Serving Children on Medi-Cal Dental: Needs and Progress in Alameda County.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Kristin S. Hoeft, Yilak Fantaye, Benjamin W. Chaffee, Suhaila Khan, Elizabeth Maker, Tracey Andrews, Ray Stewart, Ling Zhan, Bhavana Ravi, Jared Fine

"I think we can do without [tobacco]": support for policies to end the tobacco epidemic among California adolescents.

Tobacco control

Chaffee BW, Donaldson CD, Couch ET, Andersen-Rodgers E, Guerra C, Cheng NF, Ameli N, Stupplebeen D, Farooq O, Wilkinson M, Gansky S, Zhang X, Hoeft K

Prioritizing common terminology and measures to advance research on oral nicotine product use.

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Hrywna M, Ozga JE, Stanton CA, Chaffee BW, Delnevo CD, Fucito LM, Jabba SV, Morean ME, Tackett AP

Flavored Tobacco and Nicotine Use Among California Adolescents: Preferences by Use Experience and Survey Format Effects.

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine

Donaldson CD, Couch ET, Hoeft KS, Wilkinson ML, Guerra C, Gansky SA, Zhang X, Chaffee BW

Effects of a Reduced Risk Claim on Adolescents' Smokeless Tobacco Perceptions and Willingness to Use.

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Popova L, Halpern-Felsher B

Mental Health and Oral Health in a Nationally Representative Cohort.

Journal of dental research

Kalaigian A, Chaffee BW

Flavors increase adolescents' willingness to try nicotine and cannabis vape products.

Drug and alcohol dependence

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Wilkinson ML, Donaldson CD, Cheng NF, Ameli N, Zhang X, Gansky SA

Biomarkers of improved health outcomes after smoking cessation.

Addiction Neuroscience

Neal L. Benowitz, Jonathan Samet, Neeloofar Soleimanpour, Benjamin W. Chaffee

Primary Dentition caries patterns as predictors of permanent dentition caries: a prospective cohort study.

Caries research

Feldens CA, Braga VS, Kramer PF, V?tolo MR, Rodrigues PH, de Barros Coelho EMR, Chaffee BW

Use of Emerging and Conventional Oral Tobacco Among Adolescent and Young Adult E-Cigarette Users.

Substance use & misuse

Couch ET, Halpern-Felsher B, Werts M, Chaffee BW

Tobacco Use and Incidence of Adverse Oral Health Outcomes Among US Adults in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

JAMA network open

Silveira ML, Everard CD, Sharma E, Lauten K, Alexandridis AA, Duffy K, Taylor EV, Tolliver EA, Blanco C, Compton WM, Kimmel HL, Iafolla T, Hyland A, Chaffee BW

Perceived Patient Barriers to Tooth-Retaining Treatment in Tanzania.

JDR clinical and translational research

Nyamuryekung'e KK, Mlangwa MM, Chaffee BW

Pattern of caries lesions and oral health-related quality of life throughout early childhood: A birth cohort study.

European journal of oral sciences

Benelli KDRG, Chaffee BW, Kramer PF, Knorst JK, Ardenghi TM, Feldens CA

Preferences, use, and perceived access to flavored e-cigarettes among United States adolescents and young adults.

Drug and alcohol dependence reports

Chaffee BW, Halpern-Felsher B, Croker JA, Werts M, Couch ET, Cheng J

Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among Young Adults by Race and Ethnicity: Evidence From the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine

Watkins SL, Pieper F, Chaffee BW, Yerger VB, Ling PM, Max W

Oral Health in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

Journal of dental research

Chaffee BW, Lauten K, Sharma E, Everard CD, Duffy K, Park-Lee E, Taylor E, Tolliver E, Watkins-Bryant T, Iafolla T, Compton WM, Kimmel HL, Hyland A, Silveira ML

A Dental Care Coordination System To Increase Access for Medicaid Dental Program Beneficiaries: Experiences in Alameda County, California.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Benjamin W. Chaffee, Jared I. Fine, Yilak Fantaye, Kristin S. Hoeft, Rhodora Ursua, Ray Stewart, Suhaila Khan

Differences in Young Adults' Perceptions of and Willingness to Use Nicotine Pouches by Tobacco Use Status.

International journal of environmental research and public health

Vogel EA, Barrington-Trimis JL, Kechter A, Tackett AP, Liu F, Sussman S, Lerman C, Unger JB, Hughes Halbert C, Chaffee BW, Leventhal AM

E-cigarette device type and combustible tobacco use: Results from a pooled analysis of 10,482 youth.

Drug and alcohol dependence

Kong G, Chaffee BW, Wu R, Krishnan-Sarin S, Liu F, Leventhal AM, McConnell R, Barrington-Trimis J

E-cigarette, cannabis and combustible tobacco use: associations with xerostomia among California adolescents.

Community dentistry and oral epidemiology

Chaffee BW, Halpern-Felsher B, Cheng J

Oral and periodontal implications of tobacco and nicotine products.

Periodontology 2000

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Vora MV, Holliday RS

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on orthodontics in predoctoral and postdoctoral programs in the United States.

American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics : official publication of the American Association of Orthodontists, its constituent societies, and the American Board of Orthodontics

Vakili A, Chaffee BW, Oberoi S

Early-life patterns of sugar consumption and dental caries in the permanent teeth: a birth cohort study.

Caries research

Feldens CA, Dos Santos IF, Kramer PF, Vítolo MR, Braga VS, Chaffee BW

E-cigarette use and adverse respiratory symptoms among adolescents and Young adults in the United States.

Preventive medicine

Chaffee BW, Barrington-Trimis J, Liu F, Wu R, McConnell R, Krishnan-Sarin S, Leventhal AM, Kong G

Cannabis Use and Oral Health in a National Cohort of Adults.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Chaffee BW

Helping Dental Patients Quit Tobacco: What Can We Do and Why Should We Do It?

Journal of the California Dental Association

Chaffee BW

Adolescents' Substance Use and Physical Activity Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

JAMA pediatrics

Chaffee BW, Cheng J, Couch ET, Hoeft KS, Halpern-Felsher B

Flavored Cannabis Product Use Among Adolescents in California.

Preventing chronic disease

Werts M, Urata J, Watkins SL, Chaffee BW

Effect of a hypothetical modified risk tobacco product claim on heated tobacco product use intention and perceptions in young adults.

Tobacco control

Chen-Sankey JC, Kechter A, Barrington-Trimis J, McConnell R, Krueger EA, Cruz TB, Unger JB, Chaffee BW, Leventhal A

A Comparison of Four Caries Risk Assessment Methods.

Frontiers in Oral Health

Featherstone JDB, Crystal YO, Alston P, Chaffee BW, Doméjean S, Rechmann P, Zhan L, Ramos-Gomez F

Evidence-Based Caries Management for All Ages-Practical Guidelines.

Frontiers in Oral Health

Featherstone JDB, Crystal YO, Alston P, Chaffee BW, Doméjean S, Rechmann P, Zhan L, Ramos-Gomez F

California Dentists' Engagement in Media Advocacy for Sugar Restriction Policies.

JDR clinical and translational research

Kearns CE, Urata J, Chaffee BW

Electronic Cigarettes and Oral Health.

Journal of dental research

Holliday R, Chaffee BW, Jakubovics NS, Kist R, Preshaw PM

28 Tobacco Control and Oral Health.

Scott L. Tomar, Benjamin W. Chaffee

Beverage Advertisement Receptivity Associated With Sugary Drink Intake and Harm Perceptions Among California Adolescents.

American journal of health promotion : AJHP

Chaffee BW, Werts M, White JS, Couch ET, Urata J, Cheng J, Kearns C

Causal Inference in Oral Health Epidemiology.

Gustavo G. Nascimento, Benjamin W. Chaffee

Exposure to a Tobacco-Specific Carcinogen Among Adolescent Smokeless Tobacco Users in Rural California, United States.

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Chaffee BW, Jacob P, Couch ET, Benowitz NL

Electronic cigarette and moist snuff product characteristics independently associated with youth tobacco product perceptions.

Tobacco induced diseases

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Urata J, Cash D, Werts M, Halpern-Felsher B

Oral Health Birth Cohort Studies: Achievements, Challenges, and Potential.

Journal of dental research

Peres KG, Thomson WM, Chaffee BW, Peres MA, Birungi N, Do LG, Feldens CA, Fontana M, Marshall TA, Pitiphat W, Seow WK, Wagner Y, Wong HM, Rugg-Gunn AJ

Research on Youth and Young Adult Tobacco Use, 2013-2018, From the Food and Drug Administration-National Institutes of Health Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science.

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Perry CL, Creamer MR, Chaffee BW, Unger JB, Sutfin EL, Kong G, Shang C, Clendennen SL, Krishnan-Sarin S, Pentz MA

Interdental Cleaning and Oral Health Status in an Adult Cohort, 2015 to 2018.

Journal of dental research

Chaffee BW, Persai D, Vora MV

Efficacy of an adenosine triphosphate meter for evaluating caries risk in clinical dental practice.

Journal of the American Dental Association (1939)

Rechmann P, Chaffee BW, Rechmann BMT, Featherstone JDB

Antibiotic prescribing practices in periodontal surgeries with and without bone grafting.

Journal of periodontology

Hai JH, Lee C, Kapila YL, Chaffee BW, Armitage GC

Limited-edition smokeless tobacco packaging: Behind the camouflage.

Tobacco induced diseases

Couch ET, Urata J, Chaffee BW

Dental Professionals' Engagement in Tobacco, Electronic Cigarette, and Cannabis Patient Counseling.

JDR clinical and translational research

Chaffee BW, Urata J, Couch ET, Silverstein S

Electronic Cigarettes: Trends, Health Effects and Advising Patients Amid Uncertainty.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Chaffee BW

Tobacco Counseling in Dental Settings.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Elizabeth T. Couch, Janelle Y. Urata, Benjamin W. Chaffee

Predictors of Smokeless Tobacco Susceptibility, Initiation, and Progression Over Time Among Adolescents in a Rural Cohort.

Substance use & misuse

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Urata J, Gansky SA, Essex G, Cheng J

An Updated CAMBRA Caries Risk Assessment Tool for Ages 0 to 5 Years.

Journal of the California Dental Association

John D.B. Featherstone, Yasmi O. Crystal, Benjamin W. Chaffee, Ling Zhan, Francisco J. Ramos-Gomez

Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA): An Update for Use in Clinical Practice for Patients Aged 6 Through Adult.

Journal of the California Dental Association

John D.B. Featherstone, Pamela Alston, Benjamin W. Chaffee, Peter Rechmann

Caries Management by Risk Assessment: Results from a Practice-Based Research Network Study.

Journal of the California Dental Association

Rechmann P, Chaffee BW, Rechmann BMT, Featherstone JDB

Heated tobacco products likely appeal to adolescents and young adults.

Tobacco control

McKelvey K, Popova L, Kim M, Chaffee BW, Vijayaraghavan M, Ling P, Halpern-Felsher B

Personalized periodontal treatment for the tobacco- and alcohol-using patient.

Periodontology 2000

Ryder MI, Couch ET, Chaffee BW

Healthcare Utilization and Expenditures Attributable to Smokeless Tobacco Use among US Adults.

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Wang Y, Sung HY, Lightwood J, Chaffee BW, Yao T, Max W

Family Health Strategy associated with increased dental visitation among preschool children in Brazil.

International journal of paediatric dentistry

Feldens CA, Fortuna MJ, Kramer PF, Ardenghi TM, Vítolo MR, Chaffee BW

IQOS labelling will mislead consumers.

Tobacco control

McKelvey K, Popova L, Kim M, Lempert LK, Chaffee BW, Vijayaraghavan M, Ling P, Halpern-Felsher B

Noncigarette Tobacco Products-Gateway or Diversion?-Reply.

JAMA pediatrics

Watkins SL, Glantz SA, Chaffee BW

Silver Diamine Fluoride is Effective in Arresting Caries Lesions in Primary Teeth.

The journal of evidence-based dental practice

Crystal YO, Chaffee BW

Changes in Caries Risk in a Practice-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.

Advances in dental research

Rechmann P, Chaffee BW, Rechmann BMT, Featherstone JDB

The Evidence for Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA®).

Advances in dental research

Featherstone JDB, Chaffee BW

MI Varnish and MI Paste Plus in a caries prevention and remineralization study: a randomized controlled trial.

Clinical oral investigations

Rechmann P, Bekmezian S, Rechmann BMT, Chaffee BW, Featherstone JDB

Relationship between overweight/obesity in the first year of age and traumatic dental injuries in early childhood: Findings from a birth cohort study.

Dental traumatology : official publication of International Association for Dental Traumatology

Borges TS, Chaffee BW, Kramer PF, Feldens EG, Vítolo MR, Feldens CA

Breastfeeding and Oral Health: Evidence and Methodological Challenges.

Journal of dental research

Peres KG, Chaffee BW, Feldens CA, Flores-Mir C, Moynihan P, Rugg-Gunn A

Feeding frequency in infancy and dental caries in childhood: a prospective cohort study.

International dental journal

Feldens CA, Rodrigues PH, de Anastácio G, Vítolo MR, Chaffee BW

Perceived Flavored Smokeless Tobacco Ease-of-use and Youth Susceptibility.

Tobacco regulatory science

Chaffee BW, Urata J, Couch ET, Gansky SA

Adolescents' smokeless tobacco susceptibility by perceived professional baseball players' use.

Journal of public health dentistry

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Gansky SA

Going Global: Toward Competency-Based Best Practices for Global Health in Dental Education.

Journal of dental education

Seymour B, Shick E, Chaffee BW, Benzian H

Smokeless Tobacco Decision-Making Among Rural Adolescent Males in California.

Journal of community health

Couch ET, Darius E, Walsh MM, Chaffee BW

Pediatric Caries Risk Assessment as a Predictor of Caries Outcomes.

Pediatric dentistry

Chaffee BW, Featherstone JDB, Zhan L

Don't throw smokeless tobacco users under the bus.

Addictive behaviors

Elias J, Hendlin Y, Chaffee BW, Ling PM

Perceptions Related to Use of Electronic Cigarettes among California College Students.

Journal of dental hygiene : JDH

Abadi S, Couch ET, Chaffee BW, Walsh MM

Oral health-related quality-of-life scores differ by socioeconomic status and caries experience.

Community dentistry and oral epidemiology

Chaffee BW, Rodrigues PH, Kramer PF, Vítolo MR, Feldens CA

Caries Risk Assessment Item Importance: Risk Designation and Caries Status in Children under Age 6.

JDR clinical and translational research

Chaffee BW, Featherstone JD, Gansky SA, Cheng J, Zhan L

The changing tobacco landscape: What dental professionals need to know.

Journal of the American Dental Association (1939)

Couch ET, Chaffee BW, Gansky SA, Walsh MM

Conditional risk assessment of adolescents' electronic cigarette perceptions.

American journal of health behavior

Chaffee BW, Gansky SA, Halpern-Felsher B, Couch ET, Essex G, Walsh MM

Feeding practices in infancy associated with caries incidence in early childhood.

Community dentistry and oral epidemiology

Chaffee BW, Feldens CA, Rodrigues PH, Vítolo MR

Baseline caries risk assessment as a predictor of caries incidence.

Journal of dentistry

Chaffee BW, Cheng J, Featherstone JD

The Porto Alegre Early Life Nutrition and Health Study.

Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology

Chaffee BW, Vítolo MR, Feldens CA

Understanding treatment effect mechanisms of the CAMBRA randomized trial in reducing caries increment.

Journal of dental research

Cheng J, Chaffee BW, Cheng NF, Gansky SA, Featherstone JD

Gains in children's dental health differ by socioeconomic position: evidence of widening inequalities in southern Brazil.

International journal of paediatric dentistry

Kramer PF, Chaffee BW, Bertelli AE, Ferreira SH, Béria JU, Feldens CA

Evert J, Drain P, Hall T (eds). Developing Global Health Programming: A Guidebook for Medical and Professional Schools, 2nd Ed. San Francisco: Global Health Education Collaborations Press

Evert J, Drain P, Hall T (eds). Developing Global Health Programming: A Guidebook for Medical and Professional Schools, 2nd Ed. San Francisco: Global Health Education Collaborations Press

Torres HM, Altin N, Amanzadeh B, Carlson K, Chaffee BW, Frazier M, Gillette K A, Johns P, Johnson A, Lauckner H, O’Hearn S, Mulla M, Pedersen DM, Pedersen KJ, Shaw S, Tucker D, Wilson L. Global Health: Health Sciences and Team Based Care. In:

Smoking: Tobacco trends.

British dental journal

Chaffee BW, Couch ET, Essex G, Walsh MM

Maternal oral bacterial levels predict early childhood caries development.

Journal of dental research

Chaffee BW, Gansky SA, Weintraub JA, Featherstone JD, Ramos-Gomez FJ

Excessive gestational weight gain over multiple pregnancies and the prevalence of obesity at age 40.

International journal of obesity (2005)

Cohen AK, Chaffee BW, Rehkopf DH, Coyle JR, Abrams B

Cluster-randomized trial of infant nutrition training for caries prevention.

Journal of dental research

Chaffee BW, Feldens CA, Vítolo MR

Food expenditures, cariogenic dietary practices and childhood dental caries in southern Brazil.

Caries research

Feldens CA, Rodrigues PH, Rauber F, Chaffee BW, Vitolo MR

Effect of zinc supplementation on pregnancy and infant outcomes: a systematic review.

Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology

Chaffee BW, King JC