Authors
Kimberly J Hammersmith, Maria L Park, Jin Peng, Jodee C Mcdaniel, Daniel B Claman, Homa Amini, Janice A Townsend
Published in
Pediatric dentistry. Volume 48. Issue 5. Pages 379-384. Sep 15, 2026.
Abstract
Purpose: To compare pediatric patient populations and clinical treatment data at a children's hospital dental clinic (HDC) and a school based dental clinic (SBC). Methods: Retrospective data for patients treated over 17 months at both clinics were abstracted from electronic health records. Patients with caries from each clinic were matched based on age, sex, insurance status, and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and treatment visit data were compared. Results: Included were 31,547 unique patients treated in a HDC versus 1,348 in an SBC. The SBC served a higher proportion of nonWhite patients (P<0.001), patients with lower child opportunity index (COI) scores (P<0.001), and patients with Medicaid (P=0.043) or no insurance (P=0.015). The HDC treated a higher proportion of Latino/Hispanic patients (P<0.001), households with a home language other than English (P<0.001), and patients with ASD. Treatment data comparing the 556 matched pairs revealed that SBC patients had a higher mean number of visits (P<0.001), more treatment plans completed (P<0.001), and a higher average number of procedures completed (P<0.001). SBC patients had better cooperation (P<0.001) without access to nitrous oxide and with fewer referrals for general anesthesia (P<0.001). Conclusions: Comparable to the hospital dental clinic, school-based dentistry provided comprehensive and, in some ways, superior dental treatment for children of all ages and access for uniquely vulnerable populations such as nonWhite children, Medicaid or uninsured children, and children from low COI zip codes.
PMID:
42947297
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2026.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 6
- Comments 0