A practice profile of board certified pediatric dentists based upon characteristics of the dental home.
OBJECTIVE
This study's purposes were to: (1) develop a practice profile of board certified pediatric dentists based upon the characteristics of the dental home; and (2) suggest a construct for an index that could assist in the determination of the existence of a dental home.


METHODS
A survey was conducted of American Board of Pediatric Dentistry diplomates. Questions were asked that profiled practices based on the 7 characteristics of a dental home: (1) accessibility; (2) family centered; (3) continuous; (4) comprehensive; (5) coordinated; (6) compassionate; (7) culturally competent.


RESULTS
Seventy-five percent of respondents were knowledgeable about the dental home and reported that they regularly apply the concept in practice; 95 percent believed that it is important for a practice to function as a dental home. A dental home assessment tool was thought to be potentially useful by 72 percent of respondents. While 73 percent said a dental home cannot exist independently of a specific dental office, academic/public health respondents were more likely to respond that it could.


CONCLUSIONS
Participants' variability in responses suggests that functional criteria associated with the 7 characteristics of a dental home would be helpful in determining the success of providing a dental home. A potential construct for a dental home index was suggested.
Slonkosky
Philip W
PW
College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. drphils@gmail.com
Nash
David A
DA
Mathu-Muju
Kavita R
KR
Haney
Charlotte A
CA
Bush
Heather M
HM
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D002648:Child; D003190:Comprehensive Dental Care; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054521:Cultural Competency; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D004645:Empathy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D011331:Private Practice; D011364:Professional Practice; D011636:Public Health Dentistry; D017150:Public Sector; D013044:Specialty Boards; D014481:United States