Organization:

West Virginia University School of Dentistry

Department:

Dental Public Health and Professional Practice

Classification:

Faculty

Behavioral dentistry and behavioral medicine, including pain, are my principal areas of research focus. Special focus is on the conceptual understanding of anxiety, fear, and pain, including their psychopathological manifestations in anxiety disorders or chronic pain. Dental fear and phobia are particular areas of interest. Other emotions and emotional disorders, such as depression, are of interest because they frequently co-occur with these states. As I have a commitment to diversity issues in psychology and dentistry, specifically targeted toward American Indians and Alaska Natives, I have blended my research interests on anxiety with that population. My investigations in dentistry have primarily converged on assessment, working to understand dental fear and phobia, their components, functions, and sequelae. This research concentration also allows me to integrate my research with teaching of dental students and work with dental faculty. As a result of my work on pain and anxiety/fear in dental settings, I have become involved in other areas of behavioral dentistry, including orthodontics and pediatric dentistry. I am also interested in the oral (dental) health problems of people in West Virginia and elsewhere in Appalachia.

Center for Rural Health Research in Appalachia

Dr. McNeil is interested in health psychology broadly, with specific foci on the experience and expression of pain, anxiety disorders, and the interaction of pain, anxiety, and fear. Additionally, he studies the utilization and effects of Motivational Interviewing in healthcare settings. 

Working broadly within a clinical health psychology framework, and including a specific emphasis on behavioral dentistry, he is involved with several externally funded research projects as the principal investigator at West Virginia University.

In one project, Dr. McNeil and colleagues are examining factors contributing to oral health disparities in Appalachia (R01 DE014899; grant from the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health).

Additionally, he is studying interactions in healthcare settings, specifically dental care, among young children, parents/caregivers, and clinicians (R21 DE026540; grant from the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health).

Dr. McNeil has also served as a mentor and co-investigator on a project that investigated the assessment of negativity bias in depression, and changes in that bias as a result of behavioral activation therapy (NARSAD grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation). 

Oral Health in Appalachia

McNeil, D. W., Crout, R. J., & Marazita, M. L. (2012).  Oral health in Appalachia.  In 
R. L. Ludke & P. J. Obermiller (Eds.), Appalachian health and well-being (pp. 275-294). Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.

COHRA1 Protocol

Polk, D. E., Weyant, R. J., Crout, R. J., McNeil, D. W. Tarter, R. E., Thomas, J. G., & Marazita, M. L. (2008). Study protocol of the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia (COHRA) etiology study.  BioMed Central: Oral Health, 8, 18. [PMID: 18522740; PMCID: PMC2443132; doi: 10.1186/1472-6831-8-18]

COHRA2

Neiswanger, K., McNeil, D. W., Foxman, B., Govil, M., Cooper, M. E., Weyant,R. J., Shaffer, J. R., Crout, R. J., Simhan, H. N., Beach, S.R., Chapman. S, Zovko, J. G., Brown, L. J., Strotmeyer, S. J., Maurer, J. L., & Marazita, M. L (2015). Oral health in a sample of pregnant women from northern Appalachia (2011-2015). International Journal of Dentistry, 2015, 1-12. [PMID: 26089906; PMCID: PMC4451284; doi: 10.1155/2015/469376]

Genetics

Randall, C. L., McNeil, D. W., Shaffer, J. R., Crout, R. J., Weyant, R. J., & Marazita, M. L. (2016). Fear of pain mediates the association between MC1R genotype and dental fear. Journal of Dental Research, 95, 1132-1137. [PMID: 27555332; PMCID: PMC5004243; doi: 10.1177/0022034516661151] [2017 Giddon Award for Distinguished Research in the Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral, Epidemiologic & Health Services Research Scientific Group of the International Association for Dental Research]

Psychosocial Factors

McNeil, D. W., Hayes, S. E., Randall, C. L., Polk, D. E., Neiswanger, K., Shaffer, J. R., Weyant, R. J., Foxman, B., Kao, E., Crout, R. J., Chapman, S., Brown, L. J., Maurer, J. L., & Marazita, M. L. (2016). Depression and rural environment are associated with poor oral health among pregnant women in Northern Appalachia. Behavior Modification, 40, 325-340. [PMID: 26643277; PMCID: PMC4893820; NIHMS: 758511; doi: 10.1177/0145445515615353]

Microbiology

Foxman, B., Luo, T., Srinivasan, U., Ramadugu, K., Wen, A., Goldberg, D., Shedden, K., Crout, R., McNeil, D. W., Weyant, R., & Marazita, M. L. (2016). The effects of family, dentition and dental caries on the salivary microbiome. Annals of Epidemiology, 26, 348-354. [PMID: 27157862; NIMHSID: NIHMS776725; PMCID: PMC5015694; doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2016.03.006]