About

Carolyn A. Kerins, DDS, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Baylor College of Dentistry. She has a comprehensive educational background including a B.S. in Biology from Southern Methodist University, a D.D.S. from Baylor College of Dentistry, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, and a Pediatric Dentistry Residency Certificate from Baylor College of Dentistry. Her professional experience encompasses roles as an associate professor, pediatric dentist, and member of various medical and dental institutions, including Children's Medical Center Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Kerins's research focuses on pediatric dentistry, with particular interest in the health-related quality of life in children with orofacial clefts, oral health in pediatric populations, and the management of temporomandibular joint inflammation and pain. She has contributed to the field through her involvement in clinical research, including studies on dental impacts on quality of life, oral health in children with special needs, and the pharmacologic management of pediatric dental patients. Her work also extends to evaluating the capacity of the US dental health care system to serve children with special health care needs. She actively participates in professional organizations, serves on editorial boards, and contributes to national committees related to pediatric dentistry and oral health.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Family medicine
• Political Science
• Genetics
• Psychology
• Nursing
• Biology
• Virology
• Internal medicine
• Physical therapy
• Dentistry

Selected publications

• Association Between Maxillary Frenum Attachment and Anterior Tooth Caries in Children: A South Texas Oral Health Network Pilot Study.

  PubMed · 2026-03-15

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In the population studied, maxillary frenum attachment classification does not significantly correlate with the severity of anterior caries in children aged 6 to 36 months.

  Publisher

• Dental Manifestations and Clinical Implications of Diamond-Blackfan Anemia.

  PubMed · 2025-09-15

  articleSenior author

  Diamond-Blackfan anemia is a rare inherited bone marrow failure syndrome. It is part of a group of genetic disorders characterized by a decrease in red blood cells due to bone marrow malfunction. It affects five to seven live births per million per year. Pediatric patients are typically diagnosed within the first year of life; however, clinical manifestations can present at any age. Advances in molecular testing have increased the ability to identify Diamond-Blackfan anemia variants in adults. Patients with the disease have a wide range of features, including distinct physical characteristics; however, there is limited literature highlighting the dental manifestations and implications of the disease. Therefore, the purpose of this case report is to review the literature on Diamond-Blackfan anemia and highlight the unique challenges that dental practitioners may face in the delivery of dental care.

  Publisher

• Updated consensus guidelines on the management of Phelan–McDermid syndrome

  American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A · 2023 · 47 citations

  • Political Science
  • Medicine
  • Family medicine

  Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a genetic condition caused by SHANK3 haploinsufficiency and characterized by a wide range of neurodevelopmental and systemic manifestations. The first practice parameters for assessment and monitoring in individuals with PMS were published in 2014; recently, knowledge about PMS has grown significantly based on data from longitudinal phenotyping studies and large-scale genotype-phenotype investigations. The objective of these updated clinical management guidelines was to: (1) reflect the latest in knowledge in PMS and (2) provide guidance for clinicians, researchers, and the general community. A taskforce was established with clinical experts in PMS and representatives from the parent community. Experts joined subgroups based on their areas of specialty, including genetics, neurology, neurodevelopment, gastroenterology, primary care, physiatry, nephrology, endocrinology, cardiology, gynecology, and dentistry. Taskforce members convened regularly between 2021 and 2022 and produced specialty-specific guidelines based on iterative feedback and discussion. Taskforce leaders then established consensus within their respective specialty group and harmonized the guidelines. The knowledge gained over the past decade allows for improved guidelines to assess and monitor individuals with PMS. Since there is limited evidence specific to PMS, intervention mostly follows general guidelines for treating individuals with developmental disorders. Significant evidence has been amassed to guide the management of comorbid neuropsychiatric conditions in PMS, albeit mainly from caregiver report and the experience of clinical experts. These updated consensus guidelines on the management of PMS represent an advance for the field and will improve care in the community. Several areas for future research are also highlighted and will contribute to subsequent updates with more refined and specific recommendations as new knowledge accumulates.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Safety protocols at the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry Oral Clinical Examination during <scp>COVID</scp>‐19

  International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry · 2023-01-18 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  BACKGROUND: There are continued concerns about holding large group gatherings with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The American Board of Pediatric Dentistry (ABPD) made the decision to cancel the Oral Clinical Examination (OCE) in 2020 with a goal to host the exam in 2021. This cancellation postponed the board certification of over 400 pediatric dentists. There is limited published data on safety protocols for in-person examinations. AIM: To determine if safety protocols utilized in the administration of the 2021 ABPD Oral Clinical Examination (OCE) were reassuring to candidates and examiners, and effective at addressing prevention of COVID-19 infection. DESIGN: An electronic survey was emailed to candidates and examiners following completion of the board examination process. The candidate survey had 784 and the examiner survey had 108 eligible participants. Eight questions overlapped between the two surveys. Descriptive statistics were utilized. p-values < 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Three hundred ninety-four candidates (response rate = 50.3%) and 97 examiners (response rate = 89.8%) completed their respective surveys. The majority of candidates (86.8%) and examiners (94.8%) felt safe participating the OCE, and found COVID-19 protocols reassuring, 69.3% and 89.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Participants agreed that safety protocols enacted by the ABPD kept everyone safe and led to a successful and safely conducted high-stakes oral clinical examination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  PublisherDOI

• Child Life Interventions for Pediatric Dental Patients: A Pilot Study.

  PubMed · 2020 · 3 citations

  • Medicine
  • Family medicine
  • Dentistry

  Child life interventions may be considered an adjunct to other behavior guidance techniques, but further investigations should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CLIs on behavior in the dental setting.

  Publisher

• Real‐time measurement for effectiveness of novel educational endeavors during the COVID‐19 pandemic

  Journal of Dental Education · 2020 · 14 citations

  • Virology
  • Psychology
  • Medicine

  While doors to dental and hygiene institutions close, the minds and educational pursuits of students and residents do not. Being removed from the standard learning environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to the educational infrastructure. Virtual classrooms and webinars became the mainstay of conveying didactic information during the shelter-in-place mandate. Several institutions created collaborative webinar sessions using virtual educational systems. Attendees used digital devices to access information during live electronic presentations. The questions become: How effective is electronic conveyance of information measured in real time? And, can information be successfully conveyed to learners at different levels of education? Assessing real-time learner understanding typically relies on facial expression and queries during live classroom interaction, yet virtual education presents barriers to modulating content delivery. Mubayrik1 surveyed dental graduates who participated in distance learning and described a crucial limitation as difficulty in measuring outcomes and recommended adaptive learning take advantage of technology. The survey noted feedback between educator and student played a significant role in learner understanding. Learning components not yet examined are those of constructive feedback during and value of distance learning. Four pediatric dentistry residency programs across 3 states and 2 time zones participated in a Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, San Jose, CA, USA) virtual presentation incorporating a Microsoft PowerPoint (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) lecture. Participants were at varying academic progress within and across their 2-year postdoctoral programs. Mentimeter (Mentimeter, Stockholm, Sweden, www.mentimeter.com) enabled embedding multiple-choice quiz questions during the presentation to assess information knowledge and a series of multiple-choice quiz questions following the presentation to assess information retention. Fifty pediatric dental residents were able to participate in the quizzes that provided real-time feedback yet kept responses anonymous. Mentimeter is a cloud-based package that allows presenters and recipients to interact in real time during an uploaded presentation by incorporating various formats of quiz questions and polling queries (Figure 1). Response anonymity eliminates intimidation while fostering participation for small groups, whereas for larger programs the data collected assists presenters in restructuring real-time content delivery for improved efficacy. Results of the presentation quiz outcomes were discussed in real-time and participants could ask questions using either electronic device microphone or chat box within the presentation. Multiple faculty from all programs contributed to the discussion. Data recorded during the multilocation interactive session showed participants answered 61% of 13 questions queried during the presentation correctly, and 83% of 7 questions following the presentation correctly. One final question inquired if participants felt they learned from the discussion and real-time feedback via incorporated quiz questions and participating pediatric dentistry residents reported a positive learning experience. While audience engagement software has successfully been useful in academic settings, the current application was unique in promoting active learning among different levels of learners in multiple curricular program designs. Incorporating multiple technologies is time-consuming yet resulted in positive outcomes. For future endeavors, constructing parallel pre-evaluations and postevaluations may enhance relevant learning outcomes for both presenter and participants. Involving multiple institutions reduced workload of individual programs during the COVID-19 educational dilemma.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessing the efficacy of nurse led approach to guideline implementation - outcomes from a 5 year community based cardiovascular disease prevention programme

  2016-01-01

  article
  Publisher

• Dental Impacts on Health-related Quality of Life of Children with Orofacial Clefts.

  PubMed · 2016-01-01 · 7 citations

  article

  PURPOSE: Children with orofacial clefts experience risks for psychosocial and behavioral problems, making it important to evaluate for negative impacts on health-related quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and surgical history to determine if these measures correlated with caries and/or behavior during dental treatment. METHODS: Data for this retrospective study were obtained for children encountered between March 2011 and August 2013. Inclusion criteria were four- to 10-year-olds with a non-syndromic orofacial cleft diagnosis. Parent-reported HRQOL data were obtained for 79 children and child-reported data for a subgroup of 23. Pediatric Quality Of Life Inventory (PedsQL) scores, surgeries, and demographics were collected from craniofacial team medical charts. Decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) and behavior (Frankl) scores were collected from dental records. RESULTS: Significant correlations were found between total parent-reported sample PedsQL scores and dmft scores, and between the subgroup's PedsQL scores and Frankl scores. CONCLUSIONS: For children with orofacial clefts, higher caries was associated with lower health-related quality of life in the total parent-reported sample. Negative behavior was associated with lower HRQOL in eight- to 10-year-olds, who also more accurately reported psychosocial risks for negative behavior than parents by proxy. Surgeries were not associated with caries or behavior.

  Publisher

• Multi-surface composite vs stainless steel crown restorations after mineral trioxide aggregate pulpotomy: a randomized controlled trial.

  PubMed · 2013-05-28 · 62 citations

  article

  PURPOSE: Parents increasingly request esthetic restorations for their children's teeth. This split mouth, randomized controlled trial compared primary molars treated with white MTA pulpotomies and restored with either multi-surface composites (MSC) or stainless steel crowns (SSC). METHODS: Forty matched, contra-lateral pairs of molars received MTA pulpotomies and were randomly assigned to MSC or SSC restorations and evaluated clinically and radiographically at 6 and 12 months. Two calibrated, blinded examiners evaluated and scored radiographs. RESULTS: Thirty-seven matched pairs were evaluated at 6 months, and 31 were available at 12 months. All teeth in both groups were radiographically and clinically successful at 6 and 12 months. Dentin bridge formation was noted in 20% of the primary molars by 12 months. Although not significant, the composite group exhibited fewer intact clinical margins than the SSC group. The vast majority (94%) of teeth restored with composite displayed gray discoloration at follow-up exams, which did not appear to affect the quality of the restoration and is believed to be associated with the white MTA. CONCLUSIONS: The white MTA pulpotomies succeeded over 12 months regardless of the restoration; however, the teeth restored with composite were not as durable nor considered an esthetic alternative to the SSC.

  Publisher

• Misdiagnosis of erythema multiforme: a literature review and case report.

  PubMed · 2013-05-09 · 14 citations

  review

  Erythema multiforme is primarily considered a disease of the skin. Diagnosis tends to be centered on dermatologic lesions of the extremities, with mouth ulcers regarded as a secondary finding. The purpose of this paper was to report a case of an 8-year-old male diagnosed with erythema multiforme limited to the oral cavity. The patient was referred to Texas A&M Health Science Center's Baylor College of Dentistry for biopsy of recurrent mouth ulcers following an outbreak of a fever blister. Previous hospitalization occurred twice due to severe mouth ulcers causing dehydration and loss of nutrition. He was treated with 10 mg of prednisone twice daily and was able to eat and drink without pain within 48 hours. Nearly all lesions healed within 5 days of therapy. Although rare, erythema multiforme should always be considered in the differential diagnosis in the event of acute onset stomatitis.

  Publisher

Recent grants

• NIH Grant F30DE005726

  NIH · $151k · 2003

Frequent coauthors

• Larry L. Bellinger

  7 shared

• N. Sue Seale

  American Academy of Pediatrics

  5 shared

• David S. Carlson

  5 shared

• Jennifer L Cully

  George Washington University

  4 shared

• Anupama Rao Tate

  4 shared

• Catalina Betancur

  Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine

  4 shared

• Robert Spears

  The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

  4 shared

• Alton G McWhorter

  4 shared

Education

• Other, Dentistry

  Texas A&M University College of Dentistry

• Ph.D.

  Texas A&M University

Awards & honors

• NIH/NCRR UL1 RR024982-02 Packer Evaluation of Child-life Int…
• NIDCR F30 DE05726 Individual Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fe…
• Baylor Oral Health Foundation Effect of salivary stimulation…