IADR Abstract Archives
Opposition to the Age One Dental Visit by Dentists
Objectives: The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that children see a dentist at age one. We examined whether information that mothers received from pediatric and family dentists in their social network was consistent with this guideline.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional qualitative study on mothers’ social networks and children’s oral health-related behaviors, conducting 70 in-person interviews with mothers of children from 3-5 years old who were currently enrolled in the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia study. Our semi-structured interview guide included open-ended questions about child dental utilization. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded and analyzed using a grounded theory approach.
Results: Mothers sought information about their child’s first dental visit from dentists. In the context of an ongoing dental relationship, mothers typically were advised by their dentist to delay their child’s first visit until age three. The following themes emerged during data analysis: 1) acceptance of dentists’ justifications that dental assessments should occur after all primary teeth erupted and their child’s cooperation improved with age; 2) perception that their relationship with the dentist was negatively impacted when the dentist refused to see their child for a dental visit; and 3) noncompliance with the dentist’s recommendation to delay their child’s dental care by contacting other providers to schedule a dental visit.
Conclusions: Dentists can be influential members of mothers’ social network. Dentists who recommend delaying preventive dental care until age three are not following the Pediatric Dentistry guidelines on oral health promotion and anticipatory guidance, which are major motivations for age one dental visits. It may also result in delayed treatment of dental caries. Our findings indicate a need for dentists to reinforce mothers’ efforts to seek care for their children at a young age and adhere to the established guidelines on the age one dental visit.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional qualitative study on mothers’ social networks and children’s oral health-related behaviors, conducting 70 in-person interviews with mothers of children from 3-5 years old who were currently enrolled in the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia study. Our semi-structured interview guide included open-ended questions about child dental utilization. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded and analyzed using a grounded theory approach.
Results: Mothers sought information about their child’s first dental visit from dentists. In the context of an ongoing dental relationship, mothers typically were advised by their dentist to delay their child’s first visit until age three. The following themes emerged during data analysis: 1) acceptance of dentists’ justifications that dental assessments should occur after all primary teeth erupted and their child’s cooperation improved with age; 2) perception that their relationship with the dentist was negatively impacted when the dentist refused to see their child for a dental visit; and 3) noncompliance with the dentist’s recommendation to delay their child’s dental care by contacting other providers to schedule a dental visit.
Conclusions: Dentists can be influential members of mothers’ social network. Dentists who recommend delaying preventive dental care until age three are not following the Pediatric Dentistry guidelines on oral health promotion and anticipatory guidance, which are major motivations for age one dental visits. It may also result in delayed treatment of dental caries. Our findings indicate a need for dentists to reinforce mothers’ efforts to seek care for their children at a young age and adhere to the established guidelines on the age one dental visit.
