The Oral Health Care Manager in a Patient-Centered Health Facility.

UNLABELLED: The dental hygienist team member has an opportunity to coordinate care within an interprofessional practice as an oral health care manager. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although dental hygienists are currently practicing within interprofessional teams in settings such as pediatric offices, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and federally qualified health centers, they often still assume traditional responsibilities rather than practicing to the full extent of their training and licenses. This article explains the opportunity for the dental hygiene professional to embrace patient-centered care as an oral health care manager who can facilitate integration of oral and primary care in a variety of health care settings. METHODS: Based on an innovative model of collaboration between a college of dentistry and a college of nursing, an idea emerged among several faculty members for a new management method for realizing continuity and coordination of comprehensive patient care. Involved faculty members began working on the development of an approach to interprofessional practice with the dental hygienist serving as an oral health care manager who would address both oral health care and a patient's related primary care issues through appropriate referrals and follow-up. This approach is explained in this article, along with the results of several pilot studies that begin to evaluate the feasibility of a dental hygienist as an oral health care manager. CONCLUSION: A health care provider with management skills and leadership qualities is required to coordinate the interprofessional provision of comprehensive health care. The dental hygienist has the opportunity to lead closer integration of oral and primary care as an oral health care manager, by coordinating the team of providers needed to implement comprehensive, patient-centered care.

The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Oral Health Equity for Older Adults: A Systems Perspective.

This paper uses a collaborative, interdisciplinary systems science inquiry to explore implications of Medicaid expansion on achieving oral health equity for older adults. Through an iterative modeling process oriented toward the experiences of both patients and oral health care providers, complex feedback mechanisms for promoting oral health equity are articulated that acknowledge the potential for stigma as well as disparities in oral health care accessibility. Multiple factors mediate the impact of Medicaid expansion on oral health equity.

Toward Implementing Primary Care at Chairside: Developing a Clinical Decision Support System for Dental Hygienists.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this project was to use the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) as the theoretical foundation for developing a web-based clinical decision support system (CDSS) for primary care screening and care coordination by dental hygienists at chairside. METHODS: First, we appraised New York State education and scope of practice requirements for dental hygienists with input from health experts who constituted a Senior Advisory Board for the project, and reviewed current professional guidelines and best practices for tobacco use, hypertension and diabetes screening, and nutrition counseling at chairside. Second, we created algorithms for these four health issues (tobacco, hypertension, diabetes, and nutrition) using evidence-based guidelines endorsed by authoritative professional bodies. Third, an information technology specialist incorporated the algorithms into a tool using an iterative process to refine the CDSS, with input from dental hygienists, dentists, Senior Advisory Board members and research staff. RESULTS: An evidence-based CDSS for use by dental hygienists at chairside for tobacco use, hypertension and diabetes screening, and nutrition counseling was developed with the active participation of the individuals involved in the implementation process. CONCLUSIONS: CDSS technology may potentially be leveraged to enhance primary care screening and coordination by dental hygienists at chairside, leading to improved patient care. Using the CFIR as a pragmatic structure for implementing this intervention across multiple settings, the developed CDSS is available for downloading and adaptation to diverse dental settings and other primary care sensitive conditions.

"You Get Beautiful Teeth Down There": Racial/Ethnic Minority Older Adults' Perspectives on Care at Dental School Clinics.

To help eliminate reported racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in oral health care, listening to the perspectives of racial/ethnic minority older adults on their experiences with dental school clinics is needed. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of African American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican older adults who attend senior centers in upper Manhattan, New York City, regarding the care received at dental school clinics. Focus groups were conducted from 2013 to 2015 with 194 racial/ethnic minority men and women aged 50 years and older living in upper Manhattan. All of the 24 focus group sessions were digitally audiorecorded and transcribed for analysis. Groups conducted in Spanish were transcribed first in Spanish and then translated into English. Analysis of the transcripts was conducted using thematic content analysis. Seven subthemes were manifest in the data related to these adults' positive experiences with dental school clinics: excellent outcomes and dentists, painless and safe treatment, affordable care, honest and reputable, benefits of student training, accepting and helpful, and recommended by family and friends. Negative experiences centered around four subthemes: multiple visits required for treatment, loss of interpersonal communication due to use of technology, inconvenient location, and perceived stigma with Medicaid. This study provided novel evidence of the largely positive experiences with dental schools of racial/ethnic minority senior center attendees. Interventions targeted at the organization and provider level, including organizational motivation, resources, staff attributes, climate, and teamwork plus payment programs and services, insurance and affordability, and provider- and system-level supports, may improve health care processes and patient experiences of care.

Views of Dental Providers on Primary Care Coordination at Chairside: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: There is a need for research to facilitate the widespread implementation, dissemination and sustained utilization of evidence-based primary care screening, monitoring and care coordination guidelines, thereby increasing the impact of dental hygienists' actions on patients' oral and general health. The aims of this formative study are to explore dental hygienists' and dentists' perspectives regarding the integration of primary care activities into routine dental care, and assess the needs of dental hygienists and dentists regarding primary care coordination activities and use of information technology to obtain clinical information at chairside. METHODS: This qualitative study recruited 10 dental hygienists and 6 dentists from 10 New York City area dental offices with diverse patient mixes and volumes. A New York University faculty dental hygienist conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis consisted of multilevel coding based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, resulting in emergent themes with accompanying categories. RESULTS: The dental hygienists and dentists interviewed as part of this study do not use evidence-based guidelines to screen their patients for primary care sensitive conditions. Overwhelmingly, dental providers believe that tobacco use and poor diet contribute to oral disease, and report using electronic devices at chairside to obtain web-based health information. CONCLUSION: Dental hygienists are well positioned to help facilitate greater integration of oral and general health care. Challenges include lack of evidence-based knowledge, coordination between dental hygienists and dentists, and systems-level support, with opportunities for improvement based upon a theory-driven framework.