461 - Emergency Department Utilization for Non-traumatic Dental Conditions

Exploring the utilization of Emergency Department at Boston Medical Center for non traumatic dental conditions among children aged 0-21 years

Objective – Despite efforts to provide increased access to pediatric dental care in the recent past, ED visits for non traumatic preventable dental conditions has been on the rise. A significant amount of medical and financial resources are utilized towards providing dental care in the ED. This care is usually palliative and the patient needs continuing treatment in the dental clinic. This provision of palliative care in the ED perpetuates a pattern of repeat ED visits for non traumatic dental conditions. The objective of this study is to understand the utilization of ED for non traumatic dental conditions in pediatric patients and divert the resources towards preventing such visits.

Methods – A retrospective chart review of pediatric patients presenting to the ED for non-traumatic dental conditions between January 1st 2017 and December 31st 2021 will be conducted. The data collected will be cross sectional in nature, and analysis will be performed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. We will primarily seek to identify risk factors for presenting to the ED due to dental needs of non traumatic origin.

Results - A total of 977 charts are predicted to be reviewed. Data collection and analysis is ongoing for this study.

Conclusion – Conclusions will be drawn after analysis of the data