Prenatal Appointment Scheduling Increases Dental Care Use During Pregnancy

Study finds Medicaid patients were 2.6 times more likely to see a dentist when visits were arranged at the clinic.

To examine whether scheduling dental appointments during prenatal clinic visits increases dental care utilization among pregnant patients.

Study Design: The study integrated oral health screening and dental referrals into prenatal care at the NYU/Bellevue Prenatal Oral Health Program.
Patient Population: 420 prenatal patients with Medicaid coverage were referred for follow-up dental care, primarily Hispanic, with about half speaking Spanish as their first language.
Intervention: Patients received immediate dental appointment scheduling or worked with a bilingual patient navigator for education and follow-up.

44% of referred patients completed a dental appointment.
Patients with immediately scheduled appointments were 2.6 times more likely to see a dentist than those without scheduled appointments.
Immediate appointment scheduling was more effective than working with a patient navigator.

The study focused on a specific population in New York, which may limit generalizability.
Further research is needed to assess the impact on oral health outcomes.