Dr. Seligman is the Principal Investigator of SAFE-D trial and a Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is a board-certified clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders and evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents. Additionally, Dr. Seligman is a Past President of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), a leading professional organization in evidence-based psychological treatment. She has devoted much of her career to understanding and treating anxiety and dental fear and has led multiple NIH-funded studies focused on dental phobia. Her goal is to develop effective, accessible treatments that help children overcome dental fear and feel more comfortable receiving the dental care they need.

Dr. Hovey is a Principal Investigator of the SAFE-D trial and a Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist whose work has focused on anxiety, behavioral health, health disparities, and the development and delivery of evidence-based interventions, particularly in underserved and culturally diverse communities. He has worked extensively on dental anxiety and fear, including research on causes and treatment of dental fear in children and adolescents. His goal is to help advance treatments that reduce dental fear and make dental care more comfortable and accessible for children.

Dr. Charak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She is a licensed psychologist with extensive expertise in clinical and developmental psychology, mental health, and trauma research. Dr. Charak has research expertise in evaluating psychological treatments and using advanced research methods to understand mental health and treatment outcomes. In the SAFE-D trial, she helps ensure that the treatment is delivered as intended and that interventionists receive appropriate guidance and feedback.

Dr. Cummins is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bern in Switzerland. His research focuses on how people form and respond to beliefs and attitudes, with a particular knowledge in implicit measures and the assessment of relational responding and has conducted research on the development, measurement, and interpretation of implicit psychological. In the SAFE-D trial, Dr. Cummins provides consultation on the implicit measure being used. His expertise helps the study team better understand how children's attitudes and beliefs about dental care may change following treatment.

Dr. De La Fuente is a dentist in Edinburg and the owner of Dental Image. He brings with him sizeable experience providing comprehensive dental care to children and families. Dr. De La Fuente provides the study team with dental expertise related to the proposed treatment and helps guide its implementation from a dental care perspective. His clinical experience helps ensure that the treatment is appropriate for the dental needs of children and can be delivered effectively in real-world dental care settings.

Dr. Geers is a Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Toledo. His research examines how expectations and beliefs influence emotions, health behaviors, and responses to treatment, with a focus in implicit processes and placebo and nocebo effects. He has also studied the psychological mechanisms involved in dental fear. In the SAFE-D trial, Dr. Geers advises the study team on the development of the instrument used to measure inhibitory learning. His work helps the research team understand how new learning and changing associations may contribute to reductions in dental fear.

Dr. Daniel McNeil is the Parker E. Mahan Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Community Dentistry & Behavioral Science at the University of Florida. He is a clinical psychologist whose work brings together behavioral science and oral health, with a particular focus on dental fear and anxiety, pain, health behavior, and improving dental care. His research has examined ways to help people have more comfortable dental experiences and how psychological approaches can be integrated into dental settings. He also has expertise in training healthcare professionals to use behavioral approaches in clinical care. In the SAFE-D trial, Dr. McNeil provides guidance on study protocols, particularly how psychological procedures can be integrated into dental clinics and how dental personnel can be trained to deliver them.

Dr. Ollendick is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he previously served as Director of the Child Study Center. He is a clinical child psychologist and internationally recognized expert in the anxiety and related psychological difficulties in children and adolescents and developing effective behavioral treatments for these concerns. In the SAFE-D trial, Dr. Ollendick provides consultation on fidelity and competence monitoring of the study interventions, helping the research team ensure that the treatment is delivered consistently and according to established standards. His experience in evaluating and improving psychological treatments helps support the quality and effectiveness of the intervention being studied.

Dr. Pituch is a Research Professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University. His areas of expertise include multivariate statistics, multilevel modeling, missing data, mediation analysis, and other statistical methods used in intervention research. Dr. Pituch has also contributed to research examining the mechanisms of dental fear and has collaborated on studies involving the development and evaluation of treatments for dental fear. In the SAFE-D trial, he is responsible for study analyses and provides guidance on the collection, management, and analysis of study data. His work helps ensure the team comes to sound conclusions about whether the study treatments are working.

Dr. Polido is a board-certified pediatric dentist, the Head of the Division of Dentistry at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Dentistry at the Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California. His clinical and research work focuses on oral health care for children, particularly children with special health care needs, and on improving access to and experiences with dental care. He has contributed to research examining dental anxiety and stress in children and the use of sensory-adapted approaches to make dental visits more comfortable. In the SAFE-D trial, Dr. Polido provides expertise on the interpretation of oral health data and on dental health practices. His perspective helps the study team connect the psychological treatment being studied with children's broader oral health and dental care needs.

Dr. Silverman is an Alfred A. Messer Professor in the Child Study Center, Professor of Psychology, and the Director of the Yale Child Study Center. She is a clinical psychologist with expertise in childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders, with her research focused on understanding anxiety and developing and evaluating effective treatments for young people. She developed the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children, a widely used diagnostic interview for assessing anxiety and related disorders in children. She has also led numerous NIH-funded studies focused on the assessment and treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents. In the SAFE-D trial, Dr. Silverman provides guidance on training the Outcomes Assessors who conduct the diagnostic interview used as the study's primary outcome and on evaluating the reliability of their assessments. Her expertise helps ensure that changes in children's dental fear are measured carefully and consistently throughout the study.

Mario is a registered Dental Hygienist and Study Interventionist. He works directly with participants to deliver the treatment and brings his experience in dental hygiene to the study team. Mario worked previously on the pilot version of the study.

Yvonne is a registered Dental Hygienist and Study Interventionist. She works directly with participants to deliver the treatment and brings her experience in dental hygiene to the study team. Yvonne worked previously on the pilot version of the study.

Katelyn Villa, M.S. is a Research Associate III at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she serves as a project manager for clinical research. She earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She has extensive experience coordinating and implementing clinical research studies, including industry and federally funded clinical trials. Her work focuses on supporting the successful conduct of clinical research through study operations, protocol implementation, regulatory coordination, and collaboration with investigators, research staff, and study participants. In her free time, Katelyn enjoys playing video games, building miniature models and reading mystery novels.

Dr. Elwood is the Chief of the Behavioral & Social Sciences Research Branch at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). He also directs NIDCR's program focused on behavioral and biomedical processes that influence dental, oral, craniofacial, and systemic health outcomes. Before joining NIDCR, Dr. Elwood worked with the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, where he led cross-institute initiatives to advance research on behavioral and biopsychosocial processes that contribute to health behavior and behavior change. His work has included research on disease prevention, healthcare delivery, and family health and well-being in the United States and Mexico. As Project Scientist for SAFE-D, Dr. Elwood provides scientific guidance and helps connect the study to NIDCR's mission of developing effective approaches to improve oral health and well-being.

Maeve is a Research Associate I at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Trinity University in San Antonio and has a background in behavioral health and psychological assessment. In the SAFE-D trial, Maeve is responsible for conducting diagnostic interviews and other study procedures with participants. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, journaling, traveling, and playing video games.

Eva is a Research Associate I at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her research interests include the development and evaluation of interventions and prevention programs for mental disorders, as well as health disparities among minority populations. In the SAFE-D trial, Eva is responsible for conducting diagnostic interviews and other study procedures with participants. In her spare time, she loves photography, ceramics, reading, and travel.