355 - Pediatric dental utilization following screening and referral for dental caries

Pediatric dental utilization following screening and referral for dental caries

Skradski A, Marinucci-Vinyard J, Vinyard M

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of referrals for children with dental caries screened at school, with a focus on dental utilization for routine exams and restorative dental treatment. We sought to understand the impact of five Boolean categorical variables on the likelihood of patients following up in the dental clinic within one year. Three differing referral methods were employed over three years of screenings.

Methods: 561 unique patients, ages 1-5, were screened for early childhood dental caries at pre-schools by a Denver Health dentist and referred for further examination and treatment. The dataset was constructed through a retrospective chart review using Epic Software. Statistical analyses were performed to identify if the five predictors were statistically significant in patients following up on their dental referrals, as well as employing additional referral methods.

Results: Patients without established primary care, dental NPE, previous dental screening, or dental treatment within the Denver Health system were significantly less likely to follow-up on their dental referrals. Patients without existing external restorations were significantly more likely to follow up on their dental referrals. Of the patients that followed up, time to treatment completion decreased by employing additional referral methods.

Conclusion: Predictive variables established in this study help us identify patients at high risk for no follow up, resulting in intentional efforts to connect these children to dental homes and treatment. Employing additional referral methods reduced the total time for patients to complete restorative dental treatment.