Adding Registered Dental Hygienist to our Pediatrics Clinic

OKCIC completed six “data cycles” throughout the year to collect and analyze improvement for pregnant mothers who received oral screenings during their prenatal appointments, and how many received referrals to OKCIC Dental.

Goal #1

By December 31st, 2021, increase the proportion of children ages 13-15 years old who had at least one dental visit in the past year by 15% through expanding access to oral health care.

Actual: OKCIC increased the proportion of children ages 13-15 years old who had at least one dental visit in the past year by 61% through expanding access to oral health care (2020: 1,098 13-15 year olds had a dental visit, 2021: 1,762 13-15 year olds had a dental visit)

Goal #2

By December 31st, 2021, increase the proportion of topical fluoride application doses to children ages 13-15 years old by 15% through expanding access to dental screenings and topical fluoride application.

Actual: OKCIC increased the proportion of topical fluoride application doses to children ages 13-15 years old by 98% through expanding access to dental screenings and topical fluoride application. (2020: 170 13-15 year olds received fluoride varnish, 2021: 337 13-15 year olds received fluoride varnish

Goal #3

By December 31st, 2021, increase the proportion of oral health screenings for prenatal women by 20% through increased appointment scheduling and referrals.

Actual: OKCIC increased the proportion of oral health screenings for prenatal women by 90% through increased appointment scheduling and referrals. (2020: 0% of prenatal women received oral screenings during prenatal visits, 2021: 90% of women (average of all 6 data cycles) received oral screenings during prenatal visits.

Actual: OKCIC increased the proportion of women who received dental referrals by nearly 20%. (2020: 30% of women received dental referrals during their prenatal visit, 2021: 52.8% of women received dental referrals during their prenatal visit. The observed success and impact of this project could not have been predicted. The concept of medical-dental integration through the utilization of an Integrated Dental Hygienist was well-received and proved to be effective. As such, we were able to tremendously exceed each goal for this project.

Incorporating oral health care into pediatric clinic visits and prenatal visits reduced barriers of time and transportation, while increasing connections between oral and overall health. This project will also impact future generations, as it was specifically aimed to improve knowledge of pregnant mothers during prenatal visits.

This project also increased access to dental services by removing the barrier of limited dental access. Pregnant mothers were given the opportunity to schedule dental appointments on the day of their positive pregnancy test.

Children who presented for well-child checks were also allowed immediate access to dental services if they did not have a dental home.

Improved continuity of care was also evident, as young children had the unique opportunity to meet the hygienist that they would be seeing for their first dental visit. This helped to reduce the level of anxiety that children often experience during their first dental visit.