Sarah L. Goff, Charlotte F. Gilson, Marisa DaCosta, Erin DeCou, Ashley M. Kranz
{"title":"Barriers and Facilitators to Providing Preventive Dental Care for Young Children in Dental Settings","authors":"Sarah L. Goff, Charlotte F. Gilson, Marisa DaCosta, Erin DeCou, Ashley M. Kranz","doi":"10.1111/jphd.12678","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Objectives</h3>\n \n <p>This qualitative study aimed to understand dental professionals' perspectives and practices regarding preventive dental care for very young children and preventive oral health services (POHS) provided outside of dental practices.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted on Zoom with a purposive sample of dental professionals in Massachusetts between December 12, 2022, and June 15, 2023, until theoretical saturation was reached. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was the study's conceptual framework. Applying Charmaz's approach to grounded theory, transcripts were coded line-by-line in an iterative process, using memos and axial coding to identify themes.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with general dentists (<i>n</i> = 18), pediatric dentists (<i>n</i> = 5), registered dental hygienists (<i>n</i> = 3), a dental assistant (<i>n</i> = 1), and a dental administrator (<i>n</i> = 1). Major themes included: (1) facilitators and barriers to providing preventive dental care for children under 3 years old; (2) perceptions of POHS delivery outside of dental practices and care coordination; (3) public policies potentially impacting the provision of preventive dental care for young children; and (4) potential levers for change to improve receipt of recommended preventive dental services. Sub-themes included training, concerns about the quality of care in non-dental sites, public insurance barriers, and increasing joint dental-medical curriculum programs.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusions</h3>\n \n <p>Potentially modifiable barriers were identified at provider, practice, and policy levels. Further research is needed regarding the financial impacts of public insurance reimbursement rates, the potential role of bias in access to preventive dental services, and the effects of systematic accountability for performance on quality and equity measures related to preventive dental care.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":16913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of public health dentistry","volume":"85 3","pages":"309-321"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of public health dentistry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jphd.12678","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
This qualitative study aimed to understand dental professionals' perspectives and practices regarding preventive dental care for very young children and preventive oral health services (POHS) provided outside of dental practices.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted on Zoom with a purposive sample of dental professionals in Massachusetts between December 12, 2022, and June 15, 2023, until theoretical saturation was reached. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was the study's conceptual framework. Applying Charmaz's approach to grounded theory, transcripts were coded line-by-line in an iterative process, using memos and axial coding to identify themes.
Results
Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with general dentists (n = 18), pediatric dentists (n = 5), registered dental hygienists (n = 3), a dental assistant (n = 1), and a dental administrator (n = 1). Major themes included: (1) facilitators and barriers to providing preventive dental care for children under 3 years old; (2) perceptions of POHS delivery outside of dental practices and care coordination; (3) public policies potentially impacting the provision of preventive dental care for young children; and (4) potential levers for change to improve receipt of recommended preventive dental services. Sub-themes included training, concerns about the quality of care in non-dental sites, public insurance barriers, and increasing joint dental-medical curriculum programs.
Conclusions
Potentially modifiable barriers were identified at provider, practice, and policy levels. Further research is needed regarding the financial impacts of public insurance reimbursement rates, the potential role of bias in access to preventive dental services, and the effects of systematic accountability for performance on quality and equity measures related to preventive dental care.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Public Health Dentistry is devoted to the advancement of public health dentistry through the exploration of related research, practice, and policy developments. Three main types of articles are published: original research articles that provide a significant contribution to knowledge in the breadth of dental public health, including oral epidemiology, dental health services, the behavioral sciences, and the public health practice areas of assessment, policy development, and assurance; methods articles that report the development and testing of new approaches to research design, data collection and analysis, or the delivery of public health services; and review articles that synthesize previous research in the discipline and provide guidance to others conducting research as well as to policy makers, managers, and other dental public health practitioners.