Dr. Naquilla Thomas

Faculty Member

Office: Edgewater Hall Dental Hygiene Suite
Dental Hygiene
College of Health
naquillathomas@clayton.edu
Phone: (678) 466-4911

Biography

Naquilla Thomas, RDH, EdD., serves as an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene at Clayton State University, where she leads with a focus on academic excellence, collaborative engagement, and community-centered impact. With over 20 years of combined clinical practice and academic experience in dental hygiene and dental hygiene education, Dr. Thomas has advanced the profession through leadership roles that champion interprofessional collaboration and cross-discipline innovation within healthcare education.

Education

BS, Dental Hygiene, Medical College of Georgia, 2003

MAEd, Adult Education, Central Michigan University, 2008

EdD, Education, Argosy University, 2014

Awards and Honors

Fellow of the American Dental Hygienist Association , American Dental Hygienist Association , Honor, 2023

Distinguished Alumni Award, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta GA, Award, 2015

Intellectual Contributions

Victoria Foster, Elicia S. Collins, Naquilla Thomas, W. Gail Barnes, Lisa Smiley, Kimberly Campbell, Angela L Hollis, Terri Summers, Rebecca Morgan, Chyrel Panlilio, Crystal Marchant, Michelle Nelson, Tamika Baugh-Allen, "Meeting the Community Where They Where They Are: A Proposal to Provide Mobile Health Care to Underserved /Rural Communities"

Naquilla Thomas, Michele Boyce, Heather Eddy, Victoria Foster, J. Dwayne Hooks, Michelle Nelson, Melanie Poudevigne, Kimberly Pyron, Kendolyn Smith, Building A Lasting Academic Community: Meaningful Metrics For Scholarship, Pedagogy, And Life That Impact Faculty Recruitment And Retention, Business & Health Administration Proceedings –

Naquilla Thomas, Combatting Periodontal Disease: Potential use of Cannabidiol October 2021

Naquilla Thomas, Michelle Boyce, Heather Eddy, Victoria Foster, Melanie Poudevigne, Kendolyn Smith, INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN HEALTH PROFESSIONS: AN EXPLORATION OF IMPLEMENTATION, Business and Health Administration – May 2024

Naquilla Thomas, The Patient with A Respiratory Condition Chapter 60, Jones & Bartlett – May 2023

Contracts, Grants, and Sponsored Research

Kimberly Pyron, Naquilla Thomas, , Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant (TLI): Bridging the Gap in Dental Hygiene Education with Next-Gen Palpation Simulation Technology, Clayton State Retirees, Other, 2000, Funded – October 2025 to Present

Melanie Poudevigne, Gail Barnes, Catherine G. Deering, Keith Driscoll, Justin Mays, Kendolyn Smith, Naquilla Thomas, Tamara N. Thompson, Ximena Zornosa, Janetta Greenwood, Darra Edwards, Addressing COVID-19 Vaccination hesitancy training for NAESM, inc. Health Care Workers, NAESM, Inc., Local, 17000, Not Funded – October 2021 to Present

Presentations

Naquilla Thomas, Faculty and Student Well-being: Creating Supportive, Inclusive, and Balanced Educational Environments, USG Teaching & Learning Conference, 2025, April 2025

Kimberly Pyron, Naquilla Thomas, Building A Lasting Academic Community: Meaningful Metrics For Scholarship, Pedagogy, And Life That Impact Faculty Recruitment And Retention, 2025 Business & Health Administration Association Blended Conference , Midwest Business Administration Association – April 2025

Service to the University & University System of Georgia

College, College of Health Committee, Other – May 2021 to May 2025

University, CSU Hearing Panel , Committee Member – September 2021 to May 2022

Teaching Interest

Dr. Naquilla Thomas, RDH, EdD., is deeply committed to cultivating clinically excellent, community-focused dental hygienists through innovative and collaborative teaching approaches. Her teaching interests include interdisciplinary healthcare education, clinical skill development, and workforce-ready professional formation. She is passionate about integrating evidence-based practice and cross-discipline collaboration into the learning environment, preparing students to deliver comprehensive patient care within diverse healthcare teams. Dr. Thomas is particularly interested in expanding curricular experiences that strengthen student competence in team-based care, community health impact, and integrative clinical decision-making.

Research Interest

Dr. Naquilla Thomas, RDH, EdD., advances research focused on interdisciplinary and interprofessional healthcare education, exploring collaborative models that improve integrated care delivery and patient outcomes within the health sciences. Her scholarly interests include team-based clinical training, cross-discipline curriculum innovation, and systems-level approaches to sustainable interprofessional collaboration.
Dr. Thomas is particularly passionate about studying how healthcare professionals, especially dental hygienists, can be better prepared to function as essential contributors within diverse, coordinated care teams. Her work seeks to strengthen educational frameworks that foster shared clinical decision-making, community health impact, and interprofessional practice competencies.
Through research, program evaluation, and collaborative inquiry, Dr. Thomas aims to expand scalable models that bridge the oral-systemic care gap, enrich interprofessional learning environments, and support holistic, integrative, and patient-centered approaches to healthcare.