Abstract

Parent and Community Perspectives of a School-based Virtual Dental Home Program

Erika Hagstrom-Dossi¹, Hayam Megally², Ocean Arellano¹, Katie Conklin³, Lisa Berens⁴, Ray Stewart⁵, Paul Glassman⁶, Jean Calvo⁷, Enihomo Obadan-Udoh⁸ (1)Community Partner, (2)UCSF Dental Public Health Trainee, (3)UCSF Project Coordinator, (4)UCSF Division Chair of Oral Epidemiology and Dental Public Health, (5)UCSF Chair of Division of Pediatric Dentistry, (6)Consultant, (7)UCSF Pediatric Dentistry Assistant Professor, (8)UCSF Director of Dental Public Health Postgraduate Program

APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background: Children in rural California have limited access to dental services and a disproportionately high burden of oral disease. The provision of dental services through a school-based virtual dental program (VDH) can help to make dental care more accessible thereby reducing the delay with seeking appropriate treatment and the burden on families to ensure that their children have optimal oral health.

Methods: In Fall 2021, we implemented a school-based VDH program in Tuolumne County in partnership with two community-based dental clinics, and the pediatric dental and dental public health residency programs at the University of California San Francisco. Qualitative data was collected from parents and community stakeholders to understand their perspectives of the VDH program and its impact.

Results: Overall, there was a positive impression of the VDH program by the various stakeholders. The most common response from families about the school-based VDH program is the convenience of having this service at school. Parents also appreciated the personalized attention they were receiving in learning about oral diseases and helping their families with their overall health. In addition, the school leadership found the program beneficial to increasing access to care in their rural community. Our close working relationship with the local health department and local oral health program has allowed us to assist families with food, travel, dental insurance, and other preventive services. County leaders, healthcare providers, and public/private school families not directly involved with the VDH have also expressed interest in this model of providing dental care.

Conclusion: Utilizing innovative models to increase access to dental care will help reduce unnecessary suffering in children due to unmet dental needs. By incorporating dental care into the school environment, we will help create awareness in the community about the importance of oral health and promote an atmosphere of trust between dental care providers and the community.