305 - Expanding Pediatric Oral Health Access in a Community Health Center

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of an oral health integration program in expanding oral health access for children in a community-based health center.

Methods: The study population includes children ages 0-20 with an established medical home at a Federally Qualified Health Center in Boston, MA. The program period was from 2016 to 2021. To compare rates of dental service utilization, we evaluated completed new patient exams, recall exams, and preventive services (i.e., sealant application) with same day medical visits. Chi-squared tests of association were conducted to examine whether baseline dental service utilization varied by demographic characteristics. Other variables and potential confounders were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis (SAS 9.4 procedures).

Results: In 2016, only 5.6% of children ages 0-5 who had a well child visit also had a same day dental visit. This age group experienced the highest trend in dental service utilization, tripling their use of dental services to 15.4% by 2021. Overall, there was an increase in dental service utilization during the project period. However, our most significant results show an association between increased dental service utilization, (recall visits) when comparing medical years. Children who utilized medical services had an increased odds of completing a dental recall exam in 2019 1.69(1.31-2.18); 2020 1.71(1.31-2.21); and 2021 2.40(1.88-3.05) indicated by their OR’s and 95% CI compared to 2016 1.04 (0.78-1.37).

Conclusions: The major finding of our study demonstrates that children with an established medical home can strongly influence the establishment of a dental home through sustained coordinated care efforts.