TOPLINE

Providing pregnant patients with an immediately scheduled dental appointment at the time of their oral health screening was associated with nearly five times higher odds of them utilizing dental care during pregnancy compared with those not given a scheduled appointment. 

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a program evaluation of the New York University/Bellevue Prenatal Oral Health Program, a collaboration between the New York University College of Dentistry and Bellevue Hospital Obstetrics Service.
• Between July 2018 and March 2020, they screened and referred 420 pregnant patients at the Bellevue prenatal clinic and connected them with dental care through the program.
• More than half of patients were Hispanic (63.3%), living in low-income and Medicaid-insured locations, and receiving prenatal care at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
• Two interventions were tested: providing immediately scheduled dental appointments (at the time of screening, and employing a bilingual patient navigator for 12 months (February 2019 to February 2020) to educate patients, provide reminders, and address barriers to care.
• Outcome measures included any dental visit during pregnancy at the New York University College of Dentistry, tracked through bimonthly chart reviews of electronic dental records.

TAKEAWAY

• Overall, 43.6% of patients utilized dental care during pregnancy.
• Patients who received an immediately scheduled dental appointment were much more likely to have a dental visit (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.87; 95% CI, 1.67-14.16) compared with those who did not.
• Patients assigned to a patient navigator were much more likely to utilize dental care (aOR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.53-2.56) than those not assigned to a patient navigator. 
• Patients reporting more recent dental visits were more likely to utilize dental care in the unadjusted analysis (P = .02). 

IN PRACTICE

"The simple and low-cost task of assigning a patient a future day and time for a dental follow-up visit was more effective than employing a PN, a relatively costly intervention in terms of time and money," the researchers wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Stefanie L. Russell, DDS, PhD, MPH, of the New York University College of Dentistry in New York. It was published online on August 13 in the American Journal of Public Health.

LIMITATIONS

The analysis relied on data from a single-site program with a limited sample size and access to academic resources, which may limit generalizability. Potential selection bias may have affected which patients were referred to the program.

DISCLOSURES

The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures. 

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.