EFFECTIVENESS OF DENTAL HOME CONCEPT AND PRINCIPLES

Abstract

The Dental Home is not a new concept in pediatric dentistry. However, it has not yet been widely adopted by dental professionals in Bulgaria.

Aim: to assess the impact of the Dental Home concept by comparing the oral health of children who have a Dental Home to those who do not.

Materials and Methods: The study involved 200 children aged 3 to 6 years, selected from two separate dental practices staffed by pediatric dentistry specialists. In the first practice, the dentists adhered to the guidelines of the Dental Home concept, while in the second practice, they did not. The selected children were contacted by phone and invited for a routine preventive examination. During this examination, their DMF(T+t) index, Green-Vermillion Oral Hygiene Index (OHIs-GV), and PUFA index were assessed and compared.

Results: The findings indicate that children with a Dental Home had lower values for all three indices compared to those in the control group.

Conclusion: The Dental Home concept may enhance oral health in young children and reduce the DMFT (dmft), OHIs, and PUFA (pufa) indices.

Keywords:

Dental Home, oral health, dmft index, pufa index, OHIs

References

Girish Babu KL, Doddamani GM. Dental home: Patient centered dentistry. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2012 Jan;2(1):8-12.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Definition of dental home. The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, Ill.: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2024:16.

Nowak AJ, Casamassimo PS. The dental home: a primary care oral health concept. J Am Dent Assoc. 2002 Jan;133(1):93-8.

Saunders NR, Ray JG, Diong C, Guan J, Cohen E. Primary care of mothers and infants by the same or different physicians: a population-based cohort study. CMAJ. 2020 Sep 8;192(36): E1026-E1036.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Council on Clinical Affairs. Policy on the dental home. Pediatr Dent. 2015;37(6) (Reference Manual):24-25.

Canadian Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Dental Home by Age One – Recognition and Treatment of ECC. Available from: http://www.capd-acdp.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:dental-home-by-age-one-recognition-and-treatment-of-ecc-&catid=2:hot-topics&Itemid=4

FDI World Dental Federation. FDI Vision 2020: Shaping the Future of Oral Health. Available from: http://www.fdiworldental.org/documents/10157/e5a69514-515e-401a-b6cc-838be48955ae

Pariseau M. It’s Time for Boot Camp: Promoting Dental Visits by Age 1. J Can Dent Assoc 2012;78:c124

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Policy on the dental home. The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, Ill.: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2021:43-4.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Periodicity of examination, preventive dental services, anticipatory guidance/counseling, and oral treatment for infants, children, and adolescents. The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, Ill.: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2020:232-42.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Caries-risk assessment and management for infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatr Dent. 2018;40(6):205-212.

Pontigo-Loyola AP, Márquez-Corona ML, Minaya-Sánchez M, Lucas-Rincón SE, Casanova-Rosado JF, Robles-Minaya JL, Casanova-Sarmiento JA, Casanova-Rosado AJ, Mendoza-Rodriguez M, Medina-Solís CE. Correlation between the caries status of the first permanent molars and the overall DMFT Index: A cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Jan;99(5):e19061.

Cutress TW, Hunter PB, Beck DJ, de Souza P. A comparison of WHO periodontal status index with the periodontal and oral hygiene indices. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1978 Sep;6(5):245-52.

Monse B, Heinrich-Weltzien R, Benzian H, Holmgren C, van Palenstein Helderman W. PUFA--an index of clinical consequences of untreated dental caries. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2010 Feb;38(1):77-82.

Rajasekaran S, Aruna Sharma S, Jayaprakash R et al. Dental Home- An Indian perspective. International Organization of Scientific Research Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences 2014; 13(3): 33-36.

Kolstad C, Zavras A, Yoon R. Cost-benefit analysis of the age one dental visit for the privately insured. Pediatric Dentistry. 2015;37(4):376-380.

Mohebbi SZ, Virtanen JI, Vahid-Golpayegani M et al. Early childhood caries and dental plaque among 1-3-year-olds in Tehran, Iran. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent. 2006 Dec;24(4):177-81. Oct;22(5 Pt 1):273-276.

Minah G, Lin C, Coors S et al. Evaluation of an early childhood caries prevention program at an urban pediatric clinic. Pediatr Dent. 2008 Nov-Dec;30(6):499-504.

Bogovska-Gigova R., Kabaktchieva R. First Dental Visit –Attitudes, Knowledge, and Competence of Bulgarian dentists. MedInform 2022; 1:1364-1371.

Hale KJ. American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Pediatric Dentistry. Oral health risk assessment timing and establishment of the dental home. Pediatrics. 2003; 111:1113–1116.