title: Assessing the Effectiveness of a School-Based Dental Clinic on the Oral Health of Children Who Lack Access to Dental Care.
abstract: This program evaluation examines the effectiveness of a school-based dental clinic. A repeated-measures design was used to longitudinally examine secondary data from participants ( N = 293). Encounter intensity was developed to normalize data. Multivariate analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to investigate the effect of encounter intensity on the change in decay, restorations, and treatment urgency. A Pearson's correlation was used to measure the strengths of association. Encounter intensity had a statistically significant effect on change in decay ( p = .005), restorations ( p = .000), and treatment urgency ( p = .001). As encounter intensity increased, there was a significant association with the decrease in decay (-.167), increase in restorations (.221), and reduction in referral urgency (-.188). Incorporating dental care into a school-based health center resulted in improved oral health in underserved children while overcoming barriers that typically restrict access. The collaboration of school nurses with the school-based dental clinic was an important element for maximizing student access to dental care.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carpino
authors.affiliation: 2 Research and Graduate Programs, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Mary P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 4 Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simmer-Beck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003729:Dental Care / Q000379:methods*; D003740:Dental Clinics / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007615:Kansas; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D012572:School Health Services; D012573:School Nursing / Q000379:methods
keywords: best practices/practice guidelines; dental health; program development/evaluation; school-based clinics