Practice Management
Ru Guo Yang, DMD
Pediatric Dental Resident
NYU Langone Health-Casa Grande Site
NYU Langone-Casa Grand site, Arizona
Chandler, Arizona, United States
Takish Ziad, BDS
Sun Life Health
Casa Grande, Arizona, United States
Daniel J. Kane, DMD, MA
Program Director
NYU Langone Hospitals
Brooklyn, New York, United States
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this retrospective study is to identify and investigate if there’s a difference in percentage of dental-related emergency in pediatric patients who are patients of record at Sun Life Medical and Dental clinics versus patients of record at Sun Life Dental clinic. METHODS This retrospective study collected data of pediatric patients who has been evaluated and treated at Sun Life Healthcare in Casa Grande, Arizona. Charts of pediatric dental patients between the ages of 0-18 from January 1st, 2020 through December 31st, 2021, that completed dental-related emergency visits(code D-TA) at Sun Life Pediatric Dentistry were reviewed. Among those patients, the study groups were divided into patients of record at both Sun Life Medical and Dental care and patients of record at Sun Life Dental care to investigate whether there was a difference in D-TA appointments between these two study groups. RESULTS A total of 356(3.9%) D-TA appointments and a total of 8,945(96.1%) other dental appointments were noted during the study period. Dental patients of record had 3.8% for D-TA appointments compared to 4.0% noted for D-TA appointments for medical/dental patient of record(p < 0.778). There were a total of 5,732(61.6%) successful appointments and a total of 3,578(38.4%) unsuccessful appointments at Sun Life Pediatric Dentistry. The medical/dental patients of record had successful appointments at a rate of 67.6%, and 45.5%(p < 0.001) for dental patients of record. CONCLUSIONS This study suggested that there is an association of successful appointment between medical/dental patients of record and dental patients of record (p < 0.001). There is a higher likelihood that medical/dental patients of record will have a successful appointment at Sun Life Pediatric Dentistry. There is no statistical significant difference(p < 0.778) in D-TA appointments between dental patient of record versus medical/dental patient of record.