Breaking down the barriers: Increasing access to preventative oral health care for underinsured Latino children

Although preventable, dental disease is the most common chronic infectious disease among children, with Latino children suffering disproportionately. Caregivers serve as gatekeepers to their child's oral health; however, they are faced with numerous barriers in accessing oral health services. A community health assessment in Alameda County, California assessed the barriers and opportunities to accessing preventative oral health care for underinsured Latino families with children aged five and younger. Qualitative data was collected from two focus groups, one with ten Latino caregivers, and one with seventeen pediatric oral health providers, and interviews with two pediatric oral health providers. Caregiver focus groups were conducted in Spanish. Participants identified key barriers and challenges: 1) caregivers viewing pediatricians as their primary source of oral health knowledge 2) gaps in caregiver oral health knowledge 3) lack of pediatric dentists 4) financial and/or insurance coverage 5) language barriers 6) negative attitudes and behavior of dental office staff and 7) social and cultural practices. Recommendations to overcome these barriers and challenges include: establishing a partnership between medical and dental providers, educational tools to improve overall oral health knowledge, policies that increase oral health services in communities of need, increasing access to dental insurance and feasible financing options to caregivers, and developing employee training programs to educate dental office staff to be more culturally competent.