Improving Early Childhood Caries for American Indian 3- to 5-Year-Old Children Through Interprofessional Outreach: 2018–2022

Abstract

We sought to determine the effectiveness of an interprofessional health team in improving access to oral health care among American Indian children enrolled in Head Start. Our team provided preventive treatments and case management during 11 visits from 2018 to 2022. Case management reduced the time between referral and dental treatment from a median of 166 days to 58.3 days over four years. An interprofessional team is an effective way to improve access to oral health care among rural American Indian Head Start children. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print February 2, 2023:e1–e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307205 )