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Effectiveness of an alternative dental workforce model on the oral health of low-income children in a school-based setting

Author

Listed:
  • Simmer-Beck, M.
  • Walker, M.
  • Gadbury-Amyot, C.
  • Liu, Y.
  • Kelly, P.
  • Branson, B.

Abstract

Objectives. We evaluated the effect of an alternative dental workforce program- Kansas's Extended Care Permit (ECP) program-as a function of changes in oral health. Methods. We examined data from the 2008 to 2012 electronic medical records of children (n = 295) in a Midwestern US suburb who participated in a schoolbased oral health program in which preventive oral health care was delivered by ECP dental hygienists. We examined changes in oral health status as a function of sealants, caries, restorations, and treatment urgency with descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Pearson correlations. Results. The number of encounters with the ECP dental hygienist had a statistically significant effect on changes in decay (P = .014), restorations (P = .002), and treatment urgency (P = .038). Based on Pearson correlations, as encounters increased, there was a significant decrease in decay (-0.12), increase in restorations (0.21), and decrease in treatment urgency (-0.15). Conclusions. Increasing numbers of encounters with alternative providers (ECP dental hygienists), such as with school-based oral health programs, can improve the oral health status of low-income children who would not otherwise have received oral health services.

Suggested Citation

  • Simmer-Beck, M. & Walker, M. & Gadbury-Amyot, C. & Liu, Y. & Kelly, P. & Branson, B., 2015. "Effectiveness of an alternative dental workforce model on the oral health of low-income children in a school-based setting," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(9), pages 1763-1769.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2015.302714_3
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302714
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