Orthodontists' use of remote monitoring platforms pre-, amid, and post-COVID-19: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect orthodontists' use of remote monitoring platforms? The goal of this research was to examine orthodontists' experiences implementing remote monitoring platforms before, during, and after the initial COVID-19 lockdown. METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional survey study, an electronic, anonymous questionnaire consisting of a series of 31 short-answer and multiple-choice questions was administered to an international sampling of practicing orthodontists. The target population in the study included currently practicing orthodontists who were graduates of an accredited orthodontic residency program. Participants were recruited in 2021 through collaboration with the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Partners in Research Program and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Orthodontic Alumni Association. Descriptive analysis was conducted, reporting frequency (N and %) distributions for each question. The questionnaire aimed to describe whether orthodontists incorporated remote monitoring platforms into their practices, their experiences doing so, and if the COVID-19 pandemic influenced their use of these resources. RESULTS: Orthodontists' use of remote monitoring platforms was negligible prior to the pandemic; however, a quarter of surveyed orthodontists began using a remote monitoring platform during COVID-19 and nearly all respondents plan to continue using remote monitoring for the foreseeable future. Approximately half of orthodontists believe most patients' treatment progress can be monitored to the standard of care between in-person orthodontic appointments using remote monitoring platforms. Half of the orthodontists who do not currently use a remote monitoring platform in their practice are interested in learning more about how to implement one. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the interest and adoption of remote monitoring platforms in orthodontic practices. Most orthodontists had not incorporated remote monitoring platforms into their practices prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this study revealed that a subset of orthodontists utilized the pandemic as motivation to incorporate remote monitoring into their practices and an additional group of orthodontists were interested in incorporating one in the future. Remote monitoring platforms garnered interest and importance with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and may only have an increasing role in the field in years to come.

100 Million Mouths Campaign: Creating a Pilot Program to Advance Oral Health Equity.

PURPOSE: More individuals access primary care compared with oral health services. Enhancing primary care training to include oral health content can therefore improve access to care for millions of individuals and improve health equity. We developed the 100 Million Mouths Campaign (100MMC), which aims to create 50 state oral health education champions (OHECs) who will work with primary care training programs to integrate oral health into their curricula. METHODS: In 2020-2021, we recruited and trained OHECs from 6 pilot states (Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, Hawaii, Missouri, and Tennessee) with representation from varied disciplines and specialties. The training program consisted of 4-hour workshops over 2 days followed by monthly meetings. We conducted internal and external evaluations to assess the program's implementation through postworkshop surveys, identifying process and outcome measures for engagement of primary care programs, and through focus groups and key informant interviews with the OHECs. RESULTS: The results of the postworkshop survey indicated that all 6 OHECs found the sessions helpful in planning next steps as a statewide OHEC. Each OHEC was also successful in engaging 3 primary care training programs within their state and incorporating oral health curricular content through various modalities, including lectures, clinical practice, and case presentations. During the year-end interviews, the OHECs reported that they would overwhelmingly recommend this program to future state OHECs. CONCLUSIONS: The 100MMC pilot program was implemented successfully, and the newly trained OHECs have the potential to improve access to oral health within their communities. Future program expansion needs to prioritize diversity within the OHEC community and focus on program sustainability.

Evaluation of the Oral Health Knowledge Network's Impact on Pediatric Clinicians and Patient Care.

PURPOSE: Oral disease has a major impact on the overall health of US children, with dental caries being the most prevalent chronic disease in this age group. Given nationwide shortages of dental professionals, interprofessional clinicians and staff with proper training can influence oral health access. The American Academy of Pediatrics created the Oral Health Knowledge Network (OHKN) in 2018 to bring together pediatric clinicians via monthly virtual sessions to learn from experts, share resources, and network. METHODS: The Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics to evaluate the OHKN in 2021. The mixed method evaluation included an online survey and qualitative interviews among program participants. They were asked to provide information on their professional role and prior commitment to medical-dental integration as well as feedback on the OHKN learning sessions. RESULTS: Of the 72 program participants invited, 41 (57%) completed the survey questionnaire and 11 took part in the qualitative interviews. Analysis showed that OHKN participation supported both clinicians and nonclinicians in integrating oral health into primary care. The greatest clinical impact was incorporating oral health training for medical professionals (cited by 82% of respondents), while the greatest nonclinical impact was learning new information (cited by 85% of respondents). The qualitative interviews highlighted the participants' prior commitment to medical-dental integration as well as drivers for their current medical-dental integration work. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the OHKN had a positive impact on pediatric clinicians and nonclinicians and, as a learning collaborative, successfully educated and motivated health care professionals to improve their patients' access to oral health through rapid resource sharing as well as clinical practice change.

Behavioral Health Within Primary Care Postgraduate Dental Curricula: A Mixed Methods Study.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the integration of behavioral health topics (anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, eating disorders, opioid use disorder, and intimate partner violence) into primary care postgraduate dental curricula. METHODS: We used a sequential mixed methods approach. We sent a 46-item online questionnaire to directors of 265 Advanced Education in Graduate Dentistry programs and General Practice Residency programs asking about inclusion of behavioral health content in their curriculum. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with inclusion of this content. We also interviewed 13 of the program directors, conducted content analysis, and identified themes pertaining to inclusion. RESULTS: A total of 111 program directors completed the survey (42% response rate). Less than 50% of programs taught their residents to identify anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, eating disorders, and intimate partner violence (86% taught identification of opioid use disorder). From the interviews, we identified 8 main themes: influences on the inclusion of behavioral health in the curriculum; training strategies; reasons for incorporating the training strategies; training outcomes (ie, ways in which residents were evaluated); training outputs (ie, ways in which a program's success was quantified); barriers to inclusion; solutions to barriers; and reflections on how the current program can be made better. Programs housed in settings with no to minimal integration were 91% less likely (odds ratio = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.02-0.47) to include identifying depressive disorder in their curriculum compared with programs in settings with close to full integration. Other influences for including behavioral health content were organizational/government standards and patient populations. Barriers to including behavioral health training included organizational culture and lack of time. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced Education in General Dentistry and General Practice Residency programs need to make greater efforts to include in their curricula training on behavioral health conditions, particularly anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, eating disorders, and intimate partner violence.

Partnering for Integrated Care: A Learning Collaborative for Primary Care and Oral Health Teams.

PURPOSE: The Teaming and Integrating for Smiles and Health (TISH) Learning Collaborative was developed to help health care organizations accelerate progress in integrating delivery of oral and primary care. By providing expert support and a structure for testing change, the project aimed to improve the early detection of hypertension in the dental setting and of gingivitis in the primary care setting, and to increase the rate of bidirectional referrals between oral and primary care partners. We report its outcomes. METHODS: A total of 17 primary and oral health care teams were recruited to participate in biweekly virtual calls over 3 months. Participants tested changes to their models of care through Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles between calls. Sites tracked the percentages of patients screened and referred, completed the TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) and Interprofessional Assessment questionnaires, and provided qualitative feedback and updates in storyboard presentations. RESULTS: On average, with implementation of the TISH Learning Collaborative, sites displayed a nonrandom improvement in the percentages of patients screened for hypertension, referred for hypertension, referred to primary care, and referred for gingivitis. Gingivitis screening and referral to oral health care were not markedly improved. Qualitative responses indicated that teams made progress in screening and referral workflows, improved communication between medical and dental partners, and furthered understanding of the connection between primary care and oral care among staff and patients. CONCLUSIONS: The TISH project is evidence that a virtual Learning Collaborative is an accessible and productive avenue to improve interprofessional education, further primary care and oral partnerships, and achieve practical progress in integrated care.

The Current State of Antiracism Curricula in Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Education: A Qualitative Study of US Academic Health Centers.

PURPOSE: We undertook a study to evaluate the current state of pedagogy on antiracism, including barriers to implementation and strengths of existing curricula, in undergraduate medical education (UME) and graduate medical education (GME) programs in US academic health centers. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with an exploratory qualitative approach using semistructured interviews. Participants were leaders of UME and GME programs at 5 institutions participating in the Academic Units for Primary Care Training and Enhancement program and 6 affiliated sites from November 2021 to April 2022. RESULTS: A total of 29 program leaders from the 11 academic health centers participated in this study. Three participants from 2 institutions reported the implementation of robust, intentional, and longitudinal antiracism curricula. Nine participants from 7 institutions described race and antiracism-related topics integrated into health equity curricula. Only 9 participants reported having "adequately trained" faculty. Participants mentioned individual, systemic, and structural barriers to implementing antiracism-related training in medical education such as institutional inertia and insufficient resources. Fear related to introducing an antiracism curriculum and undervaluing of this curriculum relative to other content were identified. Through learners and faculty feedback, antiracism content was evaluated and included in UME and GME curricula. Most participants identified learners as a stronger voice for transformation than faculty; antiracism content was mainly included in health equity curricula. CONCLUSIONS: Inclusion of antiracism in medical education requires intentional training, focused institutional policies, enhanced foundational awareness of the impact of racism on patients and communities, and changes at the level of institutions and accreditation bodies.

Mouthguards during orthodontic treatment: Perspectives of orthodontists and a survey of orthodontic patients playing school-sponsored basketball and football.

INTRODUCTION: The objectives of this research were to identify the beliefs and practices of orthodontists about mouthguard use in orthodontic patients and to survey orthodontic patients currently playing school-sponsored basketball and/or football about mouthguards. METHODS: Fifteen orthodontists were interviewed about mouthguard use in their patients. Patients (aged 11-18 years) playing organized school basketball (n = 53) or football (n = 22) from 13 of those 15 orthodontic practices participated in an online survey about mouthguards. RESULTS: Approximately half of the orthodontists interviewed had initiated discussions about mouthguards with their patients. Although boil-and-bite mouthguards were recommended most often by orthodontists with only a single orthodontist recommending a stock type, stock was the most commonly used type (football [59%], basketball [50%]) followed by boil-and-bite (football [27%], basketball [35%]). Only 2 of the 75 patients surveyed (<3%) reported using a custom mouthguard. All football players reported using a mouthguard, as mandated by this sport. Basketball does not mandate mouthguard use, and only 38% of basketball players reported wearing one. Players who used mouthguards cited forgetting as the most frequent reason for not always using one. A greater percentage of football (91%) than basketball (32%) players reported that their coach recommended a mouthguard (P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Orthodontists differ in how they approach mouthguard use by their patients, which likely reflects a lack of evidence-based guidelines. The beliefs, recommendations, and practices of orthodontists concerning mouthguard use and the use of mouthguards by orthodontic patients are discussed. Research directions to improve mouthguard use are suggested.

"Why do you want your child to have braces?" Investigating the motivations of Hispanic/Latino and white parents.

INTRODUCTION: Many psychological, social, and cultural factors influence parents' motivation to seek orthodontic care for their children. In this study, we used Q methodology to identify and categorize shared motives and determine whether cultural differences exist between Hispanic/Latino (H/L) and non-Hispanic/Latino, white (W) parents. METHODS: The fundamental question posed to the parents was "Why do you want your child to have braces?" Q methodology involves 3 stages. (1) Interviews of H/L (n = 5) and W (n = 5) parents generated 35 statements that represented different motives to seek orthodontic care. (2) In the Q sort, 70 new parents (22 H/L, 48 W) ranked statements in order of relative importance using a forced distribution grid. (3) Factor analysis was performed separately for the H/L and W groups to uncover cultural differences. RESULTS: Four motivational profiles were described for both the H/L and W parents based on the significant factors identified in each group. More H/L parents (18 of 22 parents) than W parents (22 of 48 parents) were characterized by 1 of their group's 4 profiles. Comparisons of the motivational profiles across the groups showed 4 global themes: well-timed treatment that prevents future dental problems, parental responsibility, perceived benefits, and perceived need instilled by the dentist. CONCLUSIONS: Four global themes captured the motives of most parents seeking orthodontic treatment for their children. Understanding these global themes can help clinicians frame their treatment discussions with parents.

Treatment fidelity of brief motivational interviewing and health education in a randomized clinical trial to promote dental attendance of low-income mothers and children: Community-Based Intergenerational Oral Health Study "Baby Smiles".

BACKGROUND: Fidelity assessments are integral to intervention research but few published trials report these processes in detail. We included plans for fidelity monitoring in the design of a community-based intervention trial. METHODS: The study design was a randomized clinical trial of an intervention provided to low-income women to increase utilization of dental care during pregnancy (mother) or the postpartum (child) period. Group assignment followed a 2 × 2 factorial design in which participants were randomly assigned to receive either brief Motivational Interviewing (MI) or Health Education (HE) during pregnancy (prenatal) and then randomly reassigned to one of these groups for the postpartum intervention. The study setting was four county health departments in rural Oregon State, USA. Counseling was standardized using a step-by-step manual. Counselors were trained to criteria prior to delivering the intervention and fidelity monitoring continued throughout the implementation period based on audio recordings of counselor-participant sessions. The Yale Adherence and Competence Scale (YACS), modified for this study, was used to code the audio recordings of the counselors' delivery of both the MI and HE interventions. Using Interclass Correlation Coefficients totaling the occurrences of specific MI counseling behaviors, ICC for prenatal was .93, for postpartum the ICC was .75. Participants provided a second source of fidelity data. As a second source of fidelity data, the participants completed the Feedback Questionnaire that included ratings of their satisfaction with the counselors at the completion of the prenatal and post-partum interventions. RESULTS: Coding indicated counselor adherence to MI protocol and variation among counselors in the use of MI skills in the MI condition. Almost no MI behaviors were found in the HE condition. Differences in the length of time to deliver intervention were found; as expected, the HE intervention took less time. There were no differences between the overall participants' satisfaction ratings of the HE and MI sessions by individual counselor or overall (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Trial design, protocol specification, training, and continuous supervision led to a high degree of treatment fidelity for the counseling interventions in this randomized clinical trial and will increase confidence in the interpretation of the trial findings.

A Three Delays theoretical framework to describe social determinants as barriers to dental care.

OBJECTIVES: The Three Delays model is a well-established global public health framework for the utilization of obstetric services where each delay represents a series of factors affecting utilization: (1) Delay #1-Deciding to seek care, (2) Delay #2-Reaching an appropriate facility and (3) Delay #3-Receiving adequate care. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the application of the Three Delays model to dental service utilization and describe factors attributed to delayed utilization within this framework. METHODS: This study utilized a framework analysis, underpinned by the Three Delays model, to examine delays in dental care utilization. A criterion purposive sample of English-speaking adults (18+ years) in Massachusetts and Florida, USA with limited dental care access was recruited. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews conducted in two phases: 17 individual interviews, followed by interviews with a subset of five participants over 3 months (a total of 18 interviews). The analysis involved inductive thematic coding and systematic organization within the framework. RESULTS: Major themes and subthemes were constructed from the participants' narratives, identified and categorized as factors in the Three Delays framework. Each of the delays was interrelated to the other two, and Delay #1 was the most common delay based on the participants' interviews. The themes and subthemes contributing to one or more delays included interpersonal communication, prior dental experience, financial considerations, childcare costs, social connection, technology literacy, time constraints, competing priorities, stressors such as eviction and immigration status and microaggressions including racism and stigma. CONCLUSION: The Three Delays model was applicable to the study of dental care utilization and factors that impact the decision to seek dental care, reaching an appropriate dental facility and receiving adequate dental care in this study context.

A 2-arm randomized controlled study to improve the oral health of children living with HIV in Nigeria: Protocol and study design.

Background: Good oral health is an integral part of overall child health. However, immune-deficient states like the presence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) will compromise oral health and salivary bacterial composition, leading to adverse oral conditions. Nigeria has 1.9 million HIV-positive residents, and 0.2% of incident HIV infections occur among children below 15 years. Aim: This study aims to determine through a randomized control study, the effect of an educational intervention on the oral health status and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of HIV-positive children presenting to five pediatric HIV clinics in Kano, Nigeria. Methods/Design: This 2-arm randomized control study will be conducted in five pediatric HIV outpatient clinics in Kano State, Nigeria over a period of 6 months. Eligible participants will include 172 HIV-infected frequency matched children aged 8-16 years (they can self-implement the oral health intervention with minimal supervision from the caregivers) who will be randomized and allocated into control and intervention groups. The evaluation and oral health assessment will be carried out by five examiners who will be trained and calibrated. Discussion: Our findings will help inform policies to improve the oral health and OHRQoL of HIV-positive Nigerian children and inform the need to integrate oral health care services into HIV programs in similar settings. Trial registration: ClinicalTrails.gov ID: National Clinical Trial (NCT) NCT05540171. Registered on 12th September 2022.

Design of a community-based intergenerational oral health study: "Baby Smiles".

BACKGROUND: Rural, low-income pregnant women and their children are at high risk for poor oral health and have low utilization rates of dental care. The Baby Smiles study was designed to increase low-income pregnant women's utilization of dental care, increase young children's dental care utilization, and improve home oral health care practices. METHODS/DESIGN: Baby Smiles was a five-year, four-site randomized intervention trial with a 2 × 2 factorial design. Four hundred participants were randomly assigned to one of four treatment arms in which they received either brief Motivational Interviewing (MI) or health education (HE) delivered during pregnancy and after the baby was born. In the prenatal study phase, the interventions were designed to encourage dental utilization during pregnancy. After childbirth, the focus was to utilize dental care for the infant by age one. The two primary outcome measures were dental utilization during pregnancy or up to two months postpartum for the mother, and preventive dental utilization by 18 months of age for the child. Medicaid claims data will be used to assess the primary outcomes. Questionnaires were administered at enrollment and 3, 9 and 18 months postpartum (study end) to assess mediating and moderating factors. DISCUSSION: This trial can help define the most effective way to provide one-on-one counseling to pregnant women and new mothers regarding visits to the dentist during pregnancy and after the child is born. It supports previous work demonstrating the potential of reducing mother-to-child transmission of Streptococcus mutans and the initiation of dental caries prevention in early childhood. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01120041.

Changing knowledge and beliefs through an oral health pregnancy message.

OBJECTIVES: Pregnancy can be a critical and important period in which to intervene to improve oral health in both the mother and her child. This study examined an online approach for promoting awareness of oral health messages targeted at pregnant women, and whether this type of health messaging impacts oral health knowledge and beliefs. METHODS: The study was conducted in three parts: production and pilot testing of a brief commercial, Web site/commercial launch and testing, and dissemination and monitoring of the commercial on a video-sharing site. The brief commercial and pre- and postsurveys were produced and pilot tested among a convenience sample of pregnant women (n = 13). The revised commercial and surveys were launched on a newly created Web site and monitored for activity. After 2 months, the commercial was uploaded to a popular video-sharing Web site. RESULTS: Fifty-five individuals completed both the pre- and postsurveys after the Web site was launched. No one responded 100 percent correctly on the presurvey; 77.4 percent responded correctly about dental visits during pregnancy, 66.0 percent about cavity prevention, and 50.9 percent about transmission of bacteria by saliva. Most respondents recalled the correct information on the posttest; 100 percent or close to 100 percent accurately responded about visiting the dentist during pregnancy and preventing cavities, while 79.2 percent responded correctly to the transmission question. CONCLUSION: Social media can effectively provide dental health messages during pregnancy. This approach can play an important role in increasing awareness and improving oral health of both mother and child.

Training and educational programs that support geriatric dental care in rural settings: A scoping review.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Access to dental care for older adults is challenging, especially for those living in rural areas. People living in rural areas are less likely to visit the dentist, have greater oral health needs, and face significant oral health disparities. Given the projected increase in the older adult population, the aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review (SR) to identify the current landscape of geriatric dental training in rural healthcare settings. METHODS: Four guiding concepts (i.e., dental workforce, education/training, rural setting, and older adult population) were searched in PubMed, Embase (Elsevier), Dental and Oral Sciences Source (EBSCO), and ERIC (EBSCO) following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. EndNote and Covidence were used for de-duplication algorithms and title/abstract screening. RESULTS: Seventy-nine citations were identified for the final full-text review based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and ten articles were eligible for data extraction as applicable to the research question. Three themes emerged from the review: geriatric dentistry inclusion within dental school curricula, clinical training at rural/remote locations, and improving geriatric oral health knowledge through interprofessional training. CONCLUSION: This SR highlights the limited number of currently trained geriatric dentists, as well as, the paucity of dental programs/curricula offered to produce competent dental geriatricians with an advanced skill set for practicing in rural settings. Our review indicates the need to expand the dental workforce, curricula, and training to better position dentists to serve the older and underserved population in rural and remote areas.

Context matters: Integration of social determinants of health in AEGD and GPR curricula.

PURPOSE: To examine the integration of social determinants of health (SDH) in the US Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) and General Practice Residency (GPR) programs. METHODS: This study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. A 46-question survey was sent to all 265 AEGD and GPR programs in February 2019. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing SDH curricular inclusion. A convenience sample of program directors (PDs) was interviewed between June and December 2019. Through content analysis, themes and subthemes were identified. RESULTS: Of the 265 AEGD and GPR PDs, 111 completed the survey (42% response rate). Almost three-quarters of PDs (72%) agreed that it was important for residents to understand basic SDH concepts. However, programs lacked eight of the 10 surveyed SDH subtopics. The odds of teaching five or more SDH subtopics were 0.09 (95% CI: 0.02-0.41) for programs with none-to-minimal levels of SDH integration in their clinical settings compared to close-to-fully integrated ones. Coding of PD interviews (N = 13) identified five major themes: 1. influences to integrate SDH, 2. training strategies, outcomes, and outputs, 3. reasons for training strategies, 4. barriers and solutions, and 5. future integration goals. Most PDs cited delivering SDH content during patient care and reported time and organizational culture being barriers to more curricular inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: AEGD and GPR curricula are deficient in SDH content and risk underpreparing residents for caring for the underserved. PDs and organizational leaders must prioritize SDH inclusion in order to train dentists for integrated person-centered care.

Behavioral determinants of brushing young children's teeth: implications for anticipatory guidance.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to identify parents' motivation, support, and barriers to twice daily tooth-brushing of infants and preschool-age children and to discover new approaches to encourage this important health behavior. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 44 rural parents about tooth-brushing habits and experiences. RESULTS: Forty of 44 parents reported that they had begun to brush their child's teeth; 24 (55%) reported brushing twice a day or more. Parents who brushed twice a day, vs less often, were more likely to describe specific skills to overcome barriers; they expressed high self-efficacy and held high self-standards for brushing. Parents who brushed their children's teeth less than twice daily were more likely to: hold false beliefs about the benefits of twice daily tooth-brushing; report little normative pressure or social support for the behavior; have lower self-standards; describe more external constraints; and offer fewer ideas to overcome barriers. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support an integrative framework in which barriers and support for parents' twice daily brushing of their young children's teeth are multiple and vary among individuals. Knowledge of behavioral determinants specific to individual parents could strengthen anticipatory guidance and recommendations about at-home oral hygiene of young children.

Oral Health is Health: The Future is Now.

Oral disease is strongly affected by social determinants of health, policy, genetics, and other factors. Because of the multifaceted nature of oral health, many members of the health care team can participate in oral care services. Primary care providers (PCPs) are essential team members. Patients often visit PCPs while forgoing dental care. Primary care providers traditionally receive little training in oral health, but that is changing. A thorough, well-organized, systems approach is required to train future providers in oral health. Primary care has 12 disciplines that must be involved in these efforts and coordinated at the highest levels as well as at the grassroots level to affect systems change for didactic and clinical training. Acceptance and sustainability will require new funding mechanisms, innovations in education, patient care, and quality incentives, and evolution in value-based care models and national health organizations. This is achievable with the right champions.

Primary Care and Oral Health Integration: Comparing Training Across Disciplines.

BACKGROUND: Primary care (PC) training programs must incorporate oral health (OH) into their curricula to reduce health disparities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare OH education integration across multiple PC disciplines. METHODS: In 2017, the authors surveyed deans and program directors (PDs) across 13 disciplines (2,245 PC programs) and used the Input Process Output framework to evaluate training factors across these disciplines. RESULTS: Nine disciplines represented by 767 respondents were chosen for analysis (disciplines with ³40% response rate were included). Most of the physician assistant (PA) and pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) programs reported departmental support for OH and covered curriculum content topics on oral health risk assessment and evaluation. Similarly, over-half (>60%) PA and PNP PDs agreed that learners could answer OH-related questions on their board exams. CONCLUSION: Best practices learned from PNP and PA programs can be shared across disciplines to help bolster OH integration.