Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Kera Beskin, MPH, MBA: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Maureen Cooney, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Hollis Russinof, MUPP, MUPP: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Larone Barone, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Abstract: Objective: Poor oral health during pregnancy is associated with poor health outcomes for both mother and baby. The objective of this quality improvement project was to measure 8 prenatal practices’ ability to integrate oral health screening, education, and referral into routine prenatal care by utilizing the Protect Tiny Teeth toolkit.
Methods: Eight prenatal sites were selected in August 2020. Practices were tasked with integrating oral health into their prenatal workflow. A kickoff call taught participating participants the Model for Improvement as a framework for their quality improvement efforts. Three check-in calls allowed participants to share challenges and successes. Data was collected monthly from November 2020 to April 2021. At the conclusion of the project, qualitative interviews were conducted to collect oral health integration best practices.
Results: At project baseline (August 2020), 42% of pregnant patients were receiving any oral health education, referral, and/or screening. By project end (April 2021), 100% of pregnant patients at the participating sites were receiving some aspect of oral health care. Practices shared inventive ways they utilized the tools. One practice created a small reference tool with oral health assessment questions and dental referral number under their badge. Another clinic began emailing all oral health brochures due to the pandemic creating more telehealth visits.
Conclusions: Collecting an oral health history and providing oral health education increased markedly during this project. Use of Protect Tiny Teeth tools proved effective in helping prenatal care settings provide preventive oral health services to their pregnant patients.
Source of Funding: This project was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by American Academy of Pediatrics, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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