270 - Referral Status of Patients Who Develop Caries Following Oral Rehabilitation

Referral Status of Patients Who Develop Caries Following Oral Rehabilitation, Popejoy A, Hayter R, (NYU- Langone Hospitals, New York, NY)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine what factors are related to the referral status of a patient who undergoes complete oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia and experiences future caries.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was completed utilizing existing clinical data. Inclusion criteria comprised of patients who received complete oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia at Jordan Valley Community Health Center between the dates of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018.  .  Data was de-identified and collected via ReDCap (Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN). 

Results: Groups defined by demographic variables were approximately equal.  A majority of patients who returned requiring treatment had dental homes within the health center at which treatment was completed (n=135, 79%).  Of the patients referred from outside the health center, most were either seen for consultation within two weeks of their referral (n=9, 27%) or more than a month from referral (n=20, 61%). Further results are pending statistical analysis completed by statisticians at NYU-Langone Hospitals.

Conclusions: A majority of referred patients who had future caries following a general anesthesia experience were seen for consultation more than one month following referral (n=20, 61%).  This may indicate that referrals which are at highest caries risk also exhibit the highest barriers for presenting for care, including transportation or financial.  Future research should aim to investigate these individual-level factors to determine ways to best overcome these barriers.