Resident’s Name: Ara Cho Program: Lutheran Medical Center - Providence

Article title: Infant Oral Health Education for Pediatric and Family Practice Residents

Author(s): Douglass, J.M.

Journal: Pediatric Dentistry

Year. Volume (number). Page #’s: 2005. 27. 284-291.

Major topic: Oral Health Education

Minor topic: Fluoride

Type of Article: Scientific Article

Main Purpose: To examine whether infant oral health curriculum implemented in pediatric and family medicine residency programs can improve oral health knowledge and practice behaviors.

Overview of method of research: 120 residents and faculty from four pediatric and family residencies in Connecticut initially took a baseline current practices survey and knowledge test. 1 or 2 hour training session was conducted on oral health education and then a post-test was given to the participants. The training session focused on infant age of dental referral, early childhood caries, and correct fluoride prescriptions. The majority of the participants received in-person training for two hours. However, those who had time constraints only completed training online or only received one instead of two hours of training. Well child care forms were revised to include age-specific oral prompts for three of the four residency programs. After one year, another follow-up survey (1 YFU) was given to test the residents’ and faculty’s knowledge on oral health. The follow-up survey was identical to the initial baseline survey.

Findings: More practitioners referred children to the dentist at age 1 after the oral health education seminar. 28% initially were referring patients; after the training session at 1 YFU, 73% were referring children to the dentist at age 1. The percentage of participants giving dental nutrition advice and detailed tooth-brushing advice increased. Knowledge of fluoride prescription was limited at baseline reports and remained limited at 1 YFU.

Key points/Summary: From the results of the study, infant oral health education program did improve knowledge of oral health for pediatric and family practice residents, particularly for referring children to dentist at age 1 and “healthy snacks” However, improving the knowledge of prescribing fluoride remained limited. The use of well child care prompts was considered a key component in reinforcing oral care.

Assessment of Article: Relevant article. A weakness is that all the participants did not receive the same training. Some completed all of the training, while others completed the full two hours of training. This discrepancy may have affected the results of the study. This article demonstrates that there is value in training physicians in oral health prevention – it may guide patients to seek dental care at an earlier age, which may allow dentists to address oral problems before it is too late.