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Purpose: The “dental home” has been promoted as a strategy to prevent early childhood caries. Although the evidence base for this assertion consists largely of expert opinion, promoting adoption of the dental home concept is now policy of several national dental professional associations. No studies, however, have measured general and pediatric dentists' awareness and understanding of the concept or their willingness to incorporate its characteristics into their current practices for children ages 5 and under. This study measured Ohio pediatric and general dentists’ awareness of the dental home concept and the extent to which their practices included the characteristics listed in policy statements that describe it (i.e., accessible, compassionate, family-centered, comprehensive, culturally effective, coordinated, and continuous). Methods: A pre-tested 20-question survey was distributed to all Ohio pediatric dentists (n=156) and a random sample of approximately 20 percent of general dentists (n=800), with adjusted response rates of 75 percent and 65 percent, respectively. Results were analyzed for statistical significance (α=.05). Results: On average, general dentists and pediatric dentists reported that their practices incorporated 79 percent and 90 percent of the measured dental home characteristics, respectively. For the most part, dentists answered that they are not planning to incorporate the dental home aspects they do not currently provide. Pediatric dentists are more likely to be accessible to Medicaid patients and to those with special healthcare needs. Pediatric dentists also provide more comprehensive and coordinated care. Most pediatric dentists (78 percent) but relatively few general dentists (18 percent) had prior knowledge of the term “dental home.” More recent graduates were more likely to be familiar with the concept. Conclusions: Although largely unaware of the concept, most Ohio general dentists report to already serve as dental homes for children ages 5 and under. Ohio pediatric dentists are more likely to incorporate dental home characteristics in their practices than general dentists and are more likely to be familiar with the concept. Dentists whose practices do not largely incorporate dental home characteristics already may be unlikely to do so in the future. |
