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Dr Promise Ucheka is a Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Northampton and an educator with significant academic and clinical expertise in oral health, dental public health, and interdisciplinary collaborative care. Trained in both Dental Therapeutics and Public Health, he holds a PhD in Dental Public Health from the University of Sunderland, where his research focused on behavioural interventions and interdisciplinary care in managing oral health and type 2 diabetes, a novel area he conceptualised as ‘Stomatodiabetology’.

Dr Ucheka is committed to workforce development and capacity building. He is a UKPHR-trained public health practitioner assessor and a mentor to both dental and public health professionals. His teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with subject expertise in public health, epidemiology, and health inequalities.

He has held academic positions in both the UK and internationally, including Lecturer in Health and Social Care at the Elizabeth School of London, Academic Tutor in Public Health at the University of Sunderland, and Locum Lecturer in Oral Physiology, Public Health Education, and Community Dentistry at the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu, Nigeria.

In addition to academia, Dr Ucheka works as an Oral Health Improvement Practitioner within the NHS, leading targeted public health initiatives to improve oral health outcomes among underserved populations, including people experiencing homelessness, young children, and care home residents.

He is also the founder of MediGreat Dental Ventures (Centre for Stomatodiabetology), which drives research and community outreach in collaborative oral healthcare, inclusion oral health, and interdisciplinary oral-diabetes care across Sub-Saharan Africa. Widely published, Dr Ucheka actively contributes to European and African public health discourse through research, academic presentations, and peer review activities.

Scientific and Professional Affiliations

Dr Ucheka is actively engaged with several professional and academic bodies related to public health, oral health, and interdisciplinary care. His affiliations include:

  • Fellow, Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH)
  • Joint Member, British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) & European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH)
  • Member, BASCD & Faculty of Public Health Oral Health Improvement Special Interest Group
  • Member, National Oral Health Promotion Group
  • Member, Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health
  • Associate Member, British Fluoridation Society (BFS)
  • Affiliate Member, Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSRU), University of Dundee
  • Member, Nigerian Dental Therapists’ Association (NDTA) & Registered Dental Therapist, Dental Therapists’ Registration Board of Nigeria
Qualifications Summary:
  • PhD in Public Health (Dental Public Health) – University of Sunderland
  • Master of Dental Public Health (MDPH) – University of Dundee
  • BSc (Hons) in Public Health – University of Sunderland
  • HND in Dental Therapy – Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology, Nigeria
  • Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), English Proficiency – Level C2 – Newcastle College
  • Registered Dental Therapist (RDTH) – Dental Therapists’ Registration Board of Nigeria
  • Fellow (Designate), Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH)

 

Academic Roles and Teaching

Dr Ucheka serves as undergraduate Module Leader for the following:

  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Advanced Public Health
  • Professional Work-Based Learning

In addition to module leadership, he also contributes to teaching and curriculum development in:

  • Integrated Perspectives on Diseases (IPOD)
  • Public Health Ethics
  • Health and Diseases
  • Global Health
  • Other key areas related to public and population health

His teaching is informed by real-world public health experience, interdisciplinary research, and a strong commitment to student-centred learning and professional development.

Dr. Ucheka’s research spans the broad fields of Oral Health and Public Health, with a strong focus on Dental Public Health. His primary interests lie in exploring the impact of interdisciplinarity in collaborative healthcare, particularly in oral-systemic conditions such as diabetes, through his conceptual framework of Stomatodiabetology.

He is particularly interested in:

  • Interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare delivery
  • Collaborative models of oral health and diabetes care
  • Inclusion oral health, with emphasis on marginalised and underserved populations
  • Child and maternal oral health
  • Behavioural interventions and health promotion
  • Oral health inequalities and access to care
  • Evaluation of community-based oral health services and public health interventions

Dr. Ucheka aims to produce translational research that bridges academic evidence with practice, contributing to equitable, integrated, and impactful public health and oral healthcare systems.

Most Recent Publications and Conference Papers    
  • Promise Ucheka (2024), Interdisciplinary Collaborative Patient-Care in Oral Health and Diabetes Management in Resource-Limited Settings. Community Dental Health Journal CDH, Vol 41 Issue S4, doi: 10.1922/CDH_EAPDHAbstracts2024
  • Ucheka, P. I. (2023). The practice of Stomatodiabetology in resource-limited settings. Orapuh Journal, 4. Retrieved from https://orapuh.org/ojs/ojs-3.1.2-4/index.php/orapj/article/view/165
  • Arua, S. O., Ngwu, C. C., & Ucheka, P. I. (2023). The influence of childhood oral health problems on physical and psychosocial development. Orapuh Literature Reviews, 3(1), OR010. Retrieved from https://www.orapuh.org/ojs/ojs-3.1.2-4/index.php/oraprev/article/view/OR010
  • Arua, S. O., Ngwu, C. C., Agbo, E. E., Silas, H., & Ucheka, P. I. (2022). Oral health disparities among underserved populations in Nigeria. Orapuh Literature Reviews, 2(1), OR009.
  • Ucheka, P. I., Cinar, A. B., Ling, J., & Derek, R. (2021). A systematic review of the use of common behavioural interventions in oral health and diabetes management. Orapuh Journal, 2(3), e819. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/orapj.v2i3.1
  • Arua, S. O., Ngwu, C. C., Agbo, E. E., Silas, H., & Ucheka, P. I. (2021). The roles of dental therapists as frontline clinicians. Orapuh Literature Reviews, 1(1), OR005.
  • Ucheka P.I. (2020), Diabetes and Oral Health: Implications for Dental Therapy Practice. Published in the program of an event of the Nigerian Dental Therapists’ Association’s Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference. (Abuja, Nigeria, 8-9 November 2020).
  • Ucheka P.I. (2017), A SWOT Analysis of the Nigerian Oral Health System: Conference paper; the book of abstracts of the 1st International Scientific Conference of the School of Dental Therapy and Health Science; Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu, Nigeria. 7th – 9th Nov. 2017.
  • Ucheka P.I. (2017), The Use of Common Behavioural Intervention in Oral Health and Diabetes Management: A Systematic Review. Conference paper; the book of abstract of the 1st International Scientific Conference of the School of Dental Therapy and Health Science, Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu, Nigeria. 7th – 9th Nov. 2017.
  • Tarek H1. And Ucheka P.I1 (2017), School-Based Dental Sealant Programs May Be Effective in Caries Prevention. Journal of Evidence-Based Dentistry (2017) 18, 13–14. doi:10.1038/SJ.ebd.6401218.
Most Recent Oral and Poster Presentations  
  • Promise Ucheka (2024), The Assessment of Oral Health Behaviours and Toothbrushing Self-efficacy of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Nigeria. Oral Presentation at the 2024 postgraduate research conference at the University of Sunderland. 9th October 2024.
  • Promise Ucheka (2024), Interdisciplinary Collaborative Patient-Care in Oral Health and Diabetes Management in Resource-Limited Settings. Oral and Poster Presentations at the 28th Congress of the European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH), in Crete, Greece. 4th October 2024.
  • Ucheka, P. I. (2023). The practice of stomatodiabetology in resource-limited settings. Oral presentations at the Orapuh College of Scholars conference in February 2023.
  • Ucheka PI, Ling J, Mselenge M, Sturrock A, and Cinar AB (2023); Interdisciplinary Collaboration Between Medical and Dental Clinicians in Type Two Diabetes Management. Poster presentation at the 2023 University of Sunderland Postgraduate Research Conference.
  • Ucheka Promise (2021), The Role of The Dental Team in Diabetes Management. Oral presentation at an in-house seminar of the dental department of Federal Medical Centre FMC in Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria. April 2021.
  • Ucheka P.I.1; Hayes C1; Cinar A.B.2; and Ling J1. (2018), The Use of Common Behavioural Intervention for Diabetes-Periodontal Disease Management. A poster presentation at the World Dental and Oral Health Congress: Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Dental and Oral Health. London 20-21 July 2018.