127 - Discrepancies in Access to Dental Care between Immigrant and Non-immigrant Families

Discrepancies in Access to Dental Care between Immigrant and Non-immigrant Families
Loftus K, Wun S, Kwon S, Pellecchia R
Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, NY

Purpose: The purpose of our study is to determine if there is a difference in barriers to keeping dental appointments between US-born and foreign-born parents of children seen in the Lincoln Pediatric Dentistry clinic.

Methods: Data was collected through an 8-question survey given to the parents of pediatric patients presenting for new patient or recall examinations. The survey included 7 structured questions (Likert/binomial) and 1 open-ended question. Questions aimed to determine parents’ experience with barriers to obtaining healthcare, such as transportation, finding childcare, missing work, and language differences. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to compare responses between U.S.-born and foreign-born parents. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: We received responses from 75 parents, of which 36 were from U.S.-born parents and 39 were from foreign-born parents. Across all questions, foreign-born parents reported greater difficulty in transportation, finding childcare, and missing work, where U.S.-born parents reported greater difficulty related to language barriers, though all results were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: On average, foreign-born parents report more barriers to attending dental appointments. Missing work remains a key obstacle for all families in our study. More robust, large-scale studies are needed. As providers, we must advocate for our patients – not just in the clinic, but at the policy level.