Restorative
Adam Hurst, DMD
Advanced Education in Pediatric Dentistry Resident
NYU Lutheran Dental Medicine, Brooklyn, NY
NYU Langone Health
Yakima, Washington, United States
Joe Wilson, DMD
NYU Langone - Yakima
Yakima, Washington, United States
Jessica Webb, DDS
Associate Director
NYU Langone - Yakima
NYU Langone Dental Medicine
Yakima, Washington, United States
Purpose: Children in lower socioeconomic households and those in rural communities are disproportionately affected by caries. The aim of this study was to compare restorative treatment provided by general dentists and pediatric dentists practicing in a rural community health center.
Methods: Data was collected from electronic dental records and included dental codes for intracoronal restorations and stainless steel crowns (SSCs) billed between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 for patients age 3 to 12 years, and the clinic where the treatment was provided which served as a proxy for provider type; pediatric dentist or general dentist (PD or GD). After data was collected and sorted, a chi-squared test was completed to determine statistical significance between provider types and restorative treatment each provided.
Results: A total of 5011 dental codes meeting the inclusion criteria were collected from 3 general dental clinics and 2 pediatric dental clinics. In general dental clinics, SSCs comprised of 18.9%, 10%, and 6.2% of the restorative codes billed for children age 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 years, respectively. Conversely, in pediatric dental clinics, SSCs comprised of 80.9%, 55.3% and 38.7% of restorative codes for the same age groups. There was a significant association between provider type and type of treatment rendered for all age groups (P < 0.0001 for all age groups).
Conclusions: Pediatric dentists place SSCs on primary molars at a higher rate than general dentists in all age groups. Further research is needed to better understand these differences and mitigate the oral disease burden in rural underserved children.