Dental Home Utilization in Connecticut Head Start Patients - The International Association of Paediatric Dentistry Global Summit, 2-4 November, 2018, Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand

Suher Baker ¹ Natalie Laucius ² Laura Skrip ³ Anne Matlock-Ethier ⁴ Douglas Keck ⁵

¹School of Medicine, Division of Management, Oregon Health and Science University, USA
²Pediatric Dentistry, Private Practice, USA
³School of Public Health, Yale University, USA
⁴Pediatric Dentistry, University of Kentucky, USA
⁵Pediatric Dentistry, NYU - Lutheran, USA

Background: Children living at or below the poverty level are disproportionately more vulnerable to dental caries. Specifically, the authors aim to determine effectiveness of collaborative services among the Head Start population when compared to children of the same population who do not utilize the resources of the Head Start program.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 111 Head Start patients and 111 non-Head Start patients match by age, gender and socioeconomic status.

Results: The average number of recall visits among Head Start patients was significantly higher (n=5.26 visits) than that among the control population (n=4.42 visits) (t=2.827, P > .005). Additionally, although no association was found between number of recall visits and average dental expense, lower average annual medical expense was associated with increased number of recall visits (F = 5.796, P> .016).

Conclusions: The establishment of the dental home lowers the number of new caries in both populations. These results support the effectiveness of collaborative efforts among dental providers and community partners in the fight against dental disease.