The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #45986

Carolyn Thomson and Graham Ball. Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Lothian NHS Board, 148 Pleasance, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, +44 0131 536 9161, Carolyn.Thomson@lhb.scot.nhs.uk

Scotland has one of the poorest records for dental health in the developed world with chronic dental disease often starting in early childhood. National research also reveals increasing inequalities in dental health with the poorest 10% of children suffering over 50% of the total dental decay in the population. Only a minority of pre-school children are registered with a dentist, with particularly low rates in the poorest communities, and there is evidence of increasing difficulty in accessing free dental treatment.

The Pre-school Dental Registration Project was developed to address some of the key determinants of dental health inequalities and inequity in access to care. Two Health Visitor Co-ordinators (similar to Nurse Practitioners in Public Health) visited dentists identifying those who could register and provide free dental treatment to pre-school children. This information and dental public health messages were then successfully delivered to parents via their Health Visitor. Areas that had limited access to free dental services were also identified and this information was fed back into healthcare planning. However, a crucial secondary component to the success of the project was that ongoing process evaluation provided mechanisms for the Health Visitor Co-ordinators to incorporate suggestions from health professionals and address identified barriers to progress as the project developed. These barriers centred predominantly on communication. In response the project team developed new health promotion materials and introduced systems to improve communication pathways, at both individual and structural levels, by and between primary and secondary dental care providers, other health professionals and parents.

Learning Objectives: After the presentation participants will be able to describe

• The serious levels of chronic dental disease amongst pre-school children in Scotland.
• The relationship between socio-economic deprivation and dental health and access to care in Scotland
• An innovative project that removed some of the barriers to improving levels of access to care by addressing the communication systems between a wide range of service providers and parents.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Early Childhood Caries

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.