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Abstract #148637

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Giuseppina Romano-Clarke, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics, Dorchester House Multi Service Center, 1353 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02122, 617-288-3230, giusy.romano-clarke@dorchesterhouse.org, Gretchen Caspary, PhD, Division of Health Services Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, Suzanne Boulter, MD, FAAP, Concord Family Practice, 250 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301, Martha Ann Keels, DDS, PhD, Pediatric Dentistry, Duke University, 119 Wisteria Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, and David M. Krol, MD, MPH, FAAP, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toledo College of Medicine, Ruppert Health Center, Suite 1600, 3120 Glendale Ave, Toledo, OH 43614.

BACKGROUND: There is an oral health care deficit among American children. Some propose that pediatricians be trained to conduct basic oral health assessments. METHODS: A section of the 2006 AAP Graduating Residents Survey focused on oral health. After up to four mailings to 1000 residents, 611 (61%) responded. A 7-item scale (α=.63) of attitudes about pediatricians' roles in oral health assessment tasks was the main dependent variable in a multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: 32% received no oral health care training during residency. Of those who did, 75% had <3 hours of training, and only 14% had clinical observation time with a dentist. 71% felt they had too little oral health care training, and many described their assessment skills as being only “fair or poor” on several measures: 59% for identifying enamel demineralization, 42% for identifying plaque, 25% for identifying teeth with cavities, and 22% for informing patients how to brush correctly. Most (52%) are interested in an oral health CME, rising to 64% among those entering general pediatric practice (p<.001). Most also believe that pediatricians should conduct basic oral health assessments. Over 85% thought pediatricians should identify teeth with cavities and inform patients on how to brush correctly. Two-thirds thought they should identify enamel demineralization and plaque. Multiple regression analysis indicated that African-American residents (ß=.991, p=.020) and those applying for jobs in the inner city (ß=.541, p=.016) were especially interested. CONCLUSION: Young pediatricians report substantial interest but little training in oral health assessments.

Learning Objectives:

• List six tasks that pediatricians can perform in a basic oral health assessment in order to address oral health disparities.
• Discuss the attitudes of recently graduated pediatricians toward doing basic oral health assessments.
• Describe current limitations on the ability of pediatricians to perform basic oral health assessments.

Keywords: Oral Health, Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Audio (mp3) recording
• Slides (pdf) or Handout
• Multimedia recording