Providing a dental home for pregnant women: a community program to address dental care access--a brief communication.
OBJECTIVE
This paper describes a community-based intervention to provide a dental home for women covered by Medicaid in Klamath County, Oregon. In 2001, 8.8 percent of pregnant women served by Medicaid in Oregon received care. The long-term goal of the program is to promote preventive oral care for both mothers and their new infants.


METHODS
Pregnant women received home/Women, Infant and Children visits and were assigned a dental home under a dental managed care program [Dental Care Organization (DCO)]. All initial care was provided at the Oregon Institute of Technology Dental Hygiene Clinic under the contract with the DCO. Emergency, preventive, and restorative care was provided.


RESULTS
Between February 2004 and January 2006, 503 pregnant women were identified; 421 women were contactable. Of these, 339 received home visits (339/421, 80.5 percent) and 235 received care (235/339, 69.3 percent). Overall, 55.8 percent of eligible women received care (235/421). Most who did not have a visit either moved or were not the caretaker of the baby. The missed appointment rate was 9 percent.


CONCLUSIONS
A community health partnership led to a successful and sustainable model extending care to pregnant women and is being extended to promote preventive care for both new mothers and their offspring.
Northwest/Alaska Center to Reduce Oral Health Disparities, University of Washington, Box 357475, Seattle, WA 98195-7475, USA. dfrc@u.washington.edu
Peter
P
Milgrom
Sharity
S
Ludwig
R Mike
RM
Shirtcliff
Darlene
D
Smolen
Marilynn
M
Sutherland
Patricia A
PA
Gates
Philip
P
Weinstein
D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003729:Dental Care; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006265:Health Care Coalitions; D006293:Health Promotion; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers; D008484:Medicaid; D009922:Oregon; D011247:Pregnancy; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D014481:United States