Improving access and provision of preventive oral health care for very young, poor, and low-income children through a new interdisciplinary partnership

D.L. Biordi, M. Heitzer, E. Mundy, M. DiMarco, S. Thacker, E. Taylor, M. Huff, D. Marino and K. Fitzgerald

American Journal of Public Health, 2015, vol. 105, e26-e29

Abstract: Objectives: We provided oral health care services at 2 sites using a nurse practitioner-dietitian team to increase dental workforce capacity and improve access to care for low-income preschool children. Methods: Our team provided oral health assessments and education, fluoride varnish application, and dentist referrals. The primary endpoint was participants' access to oral health care. Secondary endpoints included increasing the practice scope of registered dietitians through training programs for oral health assessment and the application of fluoride varnishes for children. The oral health and hygiene and dietary habits of the participants were also determined. Results. From 2010 to 2013, 4360 children received fluoride varnishes in 7195 total visits. Although the proportion of children with dental caries at the first visit was greater at the urban site, both sites were similar by visits 2 and 3. The number of caries declined with increased program visits, which coincided with an increase in the proportion of participants visiting a dentist. Conclusions. Progress toward eliminating dental health disparities requires addressing barriers to dental care access. We showed that expanding access to oral health services through nurse practitioner-dietitian cooperation improved access to preventive fluoride varnishing use in low-income children.

Keywords: fluoride varnish, clinical trial; dental caries; dental procedure; dietitian; female; health care delivery; health education; human; infant; male; medicaid; multicenter study; nurse practitioner; organization and management; preschool child; public relations; rural population; socioeconomics; United States; urban population, Child, Preschool; Dental Care for Children; Dental Caries; Female; Fluorides, Topical; Health Education; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Infant; Interprofessional Relations; Male; Medicaid; Nurse Practitioners; Nutritionists; Rural Population; Socioeconomic Factors; United States; Urban Population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302486

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2014.302486_8

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302486

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().