Variation in General Dentists' Patterns of Sealant Use in Children with Elevated Caries Risk.

Introduction: Strong evidence supports use of dental sealants to prevent tooth decay, and professional guidelines recommend use in children with elevated caries risk. However, not all children indicated for sealants receive this preventive intervention, even when they use routine dental care.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which dentists' use of sealants varied in pediatric patients with elevated caries risk.

Predictors of Multiple Jobholding among Dental Hygienists in the State of Iowa.

Little is known about the prevalence of multiple jobholding practices among dental hygienists or the factors contributing to these employment patterns. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine predictors of multiple jobholding practices among dental hygienists in the state of Iowa. A mailed paper survey was sent to all licensed dental hygienists (n=2080) in Iowa in May 2018.

A tale of two public dental benefit programs: Iowa dentist participation in traditional Medicaid versus a Medicaid expansion program.

Background: In Iowa from 2014 to 2017, there were 2 separate public dental benefit programs for Medicaid-enrolled adults: one for the Medicaid expansion population called the Dental Wellness Plan (DWP), and one for the traditional, non-expansion adult Medicaid population. The programs differed with respect to reimbursement, administration, and benefit structure. This study explored differences in patterns and predictors of dentist participation in the two programs.

The patient-centered dental home: A standardized definition for quality assessment, improvement, and integration.

Objective: To develop the first standardized definition of the patient-centered dental home (PCDH).

Data Sources/study Setting: Primary data from a 55-member national expert panel and public comments.

Study Design: We used a modified Delphi process with three rounds of surveys to collect panelists' ratings of PCDH characteristics and open-ended comments.

Relationship between community-level variables and number of general dentists.

Background: In this study, the authors used observational data from 2014 to evaluate the association between the number of general dentists and several community characteristics.

Methods: The authors collected community-level characteristics from secondary sources for all 947 Iowa incorporated communities to study their relationships with the mean number of general dentists per 1,000 population per square mile (population density), the dependent variable. The authors used zero-inflated negative binomial models to examine the association between the dependent and predictor variables.