Recorded presentation

Susan L. Dietrich, DMD and Neal A. Demby, DMD, MPH. Department of Dental Medicine, Lutheran Medical Center, PO Box 770514, Ocala, FL 34477, 352-854-4794, sdfl@att.net

Community Health Centers (CHC) and Indian Health Services (IHS) throughout the country have searched for relief from chronic dental workforce shortages occurring in broad urban and rural geographic areas. The Department of Dental Medicine at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY is a nucleus for three postdoctoral dental residency training programs and has partnered with these entities to increase access to oral health care by utilizing the CHCs and IHS facilities as clinical training sites for its postdoctoral general dentistry residents. The geographic areas of service are located across the United States including: Metropolitan New York City, Upstate NY, Boston MA, Northern and Southern Arizona and Hawaii in approximately forty CHCs and HIS facilities. In most cases, the resident to CHC ratio is 1:1. This study was designed to evaluate the productivity of dental residents in a one year training program by reporting quantitative and qualitative results using multiple parameters including: relative value units, number of patient care visits (encounters), distribution of services (procedures), production based upon the 60th percentile of a national average fee structure, and current Medicaid reimbursement schedules. Resident productivity data were collected on a daily basis utilizing a web-based survey program and relational database. Comparisons are provided across resident groups as well as regions of assignment. The premise of this study was to demonstrate that dental residents are an adequate alternative resource to address workforce shortages in CHCs which results in increased access to oral health care to the most vulnerable populations.

Learning Objectives: