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Objectives: Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) encompass histologically benign, dysplastic, and cancerous lesions that are often indistinguishable by appearance and inconsistently managed. We assessed the potential impact of test-and-treat pathways enabled by a point-of-care test for OPMD characterization., Materials and Methods: We constructed a decision-analytic model to compare life expectancy of test-treat strategies for 60-year-old patients with OPMDs in the primary dental setting, based on a trial for a point-of-care cytopathology tool (POCOCT). Eight strategies of OPMD detection and evaluation were compared, involving deferred evaluation (no further characterization), prompt OPMD characterization using POCOCT measurements, or the commonly recommended usual care strategy of routine referral for scalpel biopsy. POCOCT pathways differed in threshold for additional intervention, including surgery for any dysplasia or malignancy, or for only moderate or severe dysplasia or cancer. Strategies with initial referral for biopsy also reflected varied treatment thresholds in current practice between surgery and surveillance of mild dysplasia. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of variation in parameter values on model results., Results: Requisite referral for scalpel biopsy offered the highest life expectancy of 20.92 life-years compared with deferred evaluation (+0.30 life-years), though this outcome was driven by baseline assumptions of limited patient adherence to surveillance using POCOCT. POCOCT characterization and surveillance offered only 0.02 life-years less than the most biopsy-intensive strategy, while resulting in 27% fewer biopsies. When the probability of adherence to surveillance and confirmatory biopsy was ≥ 0.88, or when metastasis rates were lower than reported, POCOCT characterization extended life-years (+0.04 life-years) than prompt specialist referral., Conclusion: Risk-based OPMD management through point-of-care cytology may offer a reasonable alternative to routine referral for specialist evaluation and scalpel biopsy, with far fewer biopsies. In patients who adhere to surveillance protocols, POCOCT surveillance may extend life expectancy beyond biopsy and follow up visual-tactile inspection., Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: SKK reports royalties from Wolters Kluwer and honorarium from the American Journal of Roentgenology for work unrelated to this study. JTM has a provisional patent pending for Screening and Assessment of Potentially Malignant Oral Lesions. (McDevitt J.T., McRae M.P. Provisional Patent, 31K5390-206256-0028-Corporation P1US). In addition, he has ownership positions and an equity interest in both SensoDx II LLC and OraLiva, INC. and serves on their Scientific Advisory Boards. All other authors declare no competing interests. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Background and Objective: The rapid growth of computer methods encourages and creates competitive advantages in the medical industry. Nowadays many health centers try to build successful and beneficial relationships with their patients using customer relationship management (CRM) methods, to recognize target patients, attract potential patients, increase patient loyalty and maximize profitability. Customer lifetime value (CLV) is a metric that can help organizations to calculate their customers' value or group them; therefore in this research we aim to develop a new CLV model for the medical industry that groups patients using computer-based methods., Methods: To model CLV for the medical industry, we will use two computer-based methods. First, to model patients' behavior, a data mining approach is required: the K-means algorithm is used to cluster patients and the decision tree technique is used to analyze patient clusters. Next, Markov chain model, a stochastic approach, is utilized to predict future behavior of customers RESULTS: This paper proposes a new CLV model for the medical industry that has some benefits over other CLV papers. It is patient behavior based, helping us to predict the future behavior of each patient as well as helping to modify managerial strategies for each type of patient. The derived CLV model includes less than 0.08 error rates., Conclusions: Using the derived CLV model helps health centers to group their patients by computer-based methods, which makes their decision making more accurate and trustworthy. The present research helps organizations within the health industry to group and rank their patients by a new CLV model and fit their strategies to each patient group, based on his/her behavior type., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This article summarizes the current status of the operation and management of dental school clinics as schools strive to provide excellent patient-centered care in an environment that is educationally sound, efficient, and financially strong. Clinical education is a large component of dental education and an area in which many dental schools have an opportunity to enhance revenue. Clinical efficiencies and alternative models of clinical education are evolving in U.S. dental schools, and this article describes some of those evolutionary changes. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 st Century."

Aim: The aim of the present study was to analyze whether there were changes in the severity of malocclusions of patients treated at the Department of Orthodontics, University of Giessen, Germany over a period of 20 years (1992-2012) and if the implementation of the KIG system (German index of treatment need) in 2001 had any effect on the patient cohort. Furthermore, the study aimed to analyze the influence of the severity of malocclusion on treatment quality and economic efficiency (relation payment per case/treatment effort)., Materials and Methods: The files of all 5385 patients admitted to the orthodontic department between 1992 and 2012 were screened and the following information was recorded: patient characteristics, treatment duration, KIG, treatment outcome, and costs., Results: In the KIG period, patients were older, pretreatment malocclusions were more severe, treatment took longer, required more appointments, and did not achieve the same degree of perfection as in the pre-KIG period. Patients with a higher pretreatment KIG category had longer treatments and did not achieve the same degree of perfection as patients with lower KIG categories. Although total payment was slightly higher for the more severe cases, their cost-per-appointment ratio was significantly lower., Conclusion: In the present university department, a shift of the orthodontic care task towards more complex cases has occurred over the last 20 years. Generally the quality of orthodontic treatment was good, but it has been demonstrated that the higher KIG cases did not end up at the same level of excellence as the lower KIG cases. Furthermore, KIG 5 patients had a longer treatment duration, and required more appointments than lower KIG cases.

This article reviews the HealthPartners Dental Group's experience with clinical quality measurement and provides information on the administrative infrastructure that supports measurement within the group. Some examples of the role measurement plays in operations and clinical practice are also reviewed.

Educational patient care clinics are becoming an increasingly important source of revenue for dental schools. Revenue from clinics can help offset the rising cost of dental education. In addition, those clinics represent a source of income over which the schools have reasonably direct control. Recently, a group of nine U.S. dental schools conducted a detailed financial survey of their clinics and shared the confidential results with each other. The purpose of their analysis was to develop benchmarks for key factors related to clinical financial productivity and expenses and to define best practices to guide improvements at each school. The survey found significant variations among the nine schools in revenue produced by predoctoral students and by postdoctoral residents. There were similar variations for levels of clinical staffing. By sharing the results of the survey with each other, the individual schools gained a strong understanding of the business strengths or weakness of their own clinical programs. That information gave each school's leaders the opportunity to investigate how they might improve their clinical fiscal sustainability.

Background: Patient charges and availability of dental services influence utilization of dental services. There is little available information on the cost of dental services and availability of materials and equipment in public dental facilities in Africa. This study aimed to determine the relative cost and availability of dental services, materials and equipment in public oral care facilities in Tanzania. The local factors affecting availability were also studied., Methods: A survey of all district and regional dental clinics in selected regions was conducted in 2014. A total of 28/30 facilities participated in the study. A structured interview was undertaken amongst practitioners and clinic managers within the facilities. Daily resources for consumption (DRC) were used for estimation of patients' relative cost. DRC are the quantified average financial resources required for an adult Tanzanian's overall consumption per day., Results: Tooth extractions were found to cost four times the DRC whereas restorations were 9-10 times the DRC. Studied facilities provided tooth extractions (100%), scaling (86%), fillings (79%), root canal treatment (46%) and fabrication of removable partial dentures (32%). The ratio of tooth fillings to extractions in the facilities was 1:16. Less than 50% of the facilities had any of the investigated dental materials consistently available throughout the year, and just three facilities had all the investigated equipment functional and in use., Conclusions: Dental materials and equipment availability, skills of the practitioners and the cost of services all play major roles in provision and utilization of comprehensive oral care. These factors are likely to be interlinked and should be taken into consideration when studying any of the factors individually.

Community dental clinics (CDCs) have emerged to provide oral healthcare for those with low incomes. In British Columbia, the establishment of community clinics has been quite rapid in recent years. However, the expansion has occurred with very little assessment of their impact or effectiveness. While oral health inequities are well recognised, there is limited documentation on healthcare interventions to reduce oral health inequities. This study examines CDCs as health equity interventions from the perspectives of individuals establishing and operating the clinics. The study included interviews with 17 participants--4 dentists, 6 dental hygienists and 7 clinic managers--from 10 clinics operating in British Columbia, Canada in 2008-2009. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, explored through a health equity framework, found many ways in which the CDCs exemplify health equity interventions. Although their design and mandates are varied, they potentially enable access to dental treatment, but without necessarily ensuring sustainable outcomes. Moreover, the scalability of CDCs is questionable because frequently they are limited to emergency care and are less responsive to the gradients of needs for populations facing multiple barriers to care. Many of them operate on a charitable base with input from volunteer dentists; however, this foundation probably eases the pressure on dentists and dental hygienists rather than offering a safety net to underserved populations., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Dental care for elderly nursing home residents is traditionally provided at fixed dental clinics, but domiciliary dental care is an emerging alternative. Longer life expectancy accompanied with increased morbidity, and hospitalisation or dependence on the care of others will contribute to a risk for rapid deterioration of oral health so alternative methods for delivering oral health care to vulnerable individuals for whom access to fixed dental clinics is an obstacle should be considered. The aim was to analyse health economic consequences of domiciliary dental care for elderly nursing home residents in Sweden, compared to dentistry at a fixed clinic., Methods: A review of relevant literature was undertaken complemented by interviews with nursing home staff, officials at county councils, and academic experts in geriatric dentistry. Domiciliary dental care and fixed clinic care were compared in cost analyses and cost-effectiveness analyses., Results: The mean societal cost of domiciliary dental care for elderly nursing home residents was lower than dental care at a fixed clinic, and it was also considered cost-effective. Lower cost of dental care at a fixed dental clinic was only achieved in a scenario where dental care could not be completed in a domiciliary setting., Conclusions: Domiciliary dental care for elderly nursing home residents has a lower societal cost and is cost-effective compared to dental care at fixed clinics. To meet current and predicted need for oral health care in the ageing population alternative methods to deliver dental care should be available.

Dental clinicians have an expanding range of biomaterial choices for restoring tooth structure. Scientific developments in cariology, advances in dental biomaterials, and patients' esthetic concerns have led to a reduction in amalgam restorations and an increase in composite restorations. The aim of this study was to compare teaching time with students' clinical procedures in amalgam and composite posterior restorations in dental schools across the United States. Academic deans in 60 schools were invited to complete a survey that asked for the amount of instructional time for amalgam and composite posterior restorations and the number of clinical restorations performed by their Classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011. Of these 60, 12 returned surveys with complete data, for a 20% response rate. Responses from these schools showed little change in lecture and preclinical laboratory instruction from 2009 to 2011. There was a slight increase in two-surface restorations for both amalgam and composites; however, the total number of reported composite and amalgam restorations remained the same. Of 204,864 restorations reported, 53% were composite, and 47% were amalgam. There were twice as many multisurface large or complex amalgam restorations as composites. One-surface composite restorations exceeded amalgams. Among the participating schools, there was little to no change between curriculum time and clinical procedures. Findings from this preliminary study reflect a modest increase in two-surface resin-based restorations placed by dental students from 2009 to 2011 and little change in curricular time devoted to teaching amalgam restorations. The total number of posterior composite restorations placed by students in these schools was slightly higher than amalgams.

Health Information Technology (Health IT) constitutes an integral component of the operations of most academic dental institutions nowadays. However, the expenses associated with the acquisition and the ongoing maintenance of these complex systems have often been buried among costs for other electronic infrastructure systems, distributed across various cost centers including unmeasured central campus support, covered centrally and therefore difficult to quantify, and spread over years, denying school administrators a clear understanding of the resources that have been dedicated to Health IT. The aim of this study was to understand the financial impact of Health IT at four similar U.S. dental schools: two schools using a purchased Electronic Health Record (EHR), and two schools that developed their own EHR. For these schools, the costs of creating ($2.5 million) and sustaining ($174,000) custom EHR software were significantly higher than acquiring ($500,000) and sustaining ($121,000) purchased software. These results are based on historical data and should not be regarded as a gold standard for what a complete Health IT suite should cost. The presented data are intended to inform school administrators about the myriad of costs associated with Health IT and give them a point of reference when comparing costs or making estimates for implementation projects.

Background: The objective of this paper is to quantify the cost of periodontitis management at public sector specialist periodontal clinic settings and analyse the distribution of cost components., Methods: Five specialist periodontal clinics in the Ministry of Health represented the public sector in providing clinical and cost data for this study. Newly-diagnosed periodontitis patients (N = 165) were recruited and followed up for one year of specialist periodontal care. Direct and indirect costs from the societal viewpoint were included in the cost analysis. They were measured in 2012 Ringgit Malaysia (MYR) and estimated from the societal perspective using activity-based and step-down costing methods, and substantiated by clinical pathways. Cost of dental equipment, consumables and labour (average treatment time) for each procedure was measured using activity-based costing method. Meanwhile, unit cost calculations for clinic administration, utilities and maintenance used step-down approach. Patient expenditures and absence from work were recorded via diary entries. The conversion from MYR to Euro was based on the 2012 rate (1€ = MYR4)., Results: A total of 2900 procedures were provided, with an average cost of MYR 2820 (€705) per patient for the study year, and MYR 376 (€94) per outpatient visit. Out of this, 90% was contributed by provider cost and 10% by patient cost; 94% for direct cost and 4% for lost productivity. Treatment of aggressive periodontitis was significantly higher than for chronic periodontitis (t-test, P = 0.003). Higher costs were expended as disease severity increased (ANOVA, P = 0.022) and for patients requiring surgeries (ANOVA, P < 0.001). Providers generally spent most on consumables while patients spent most on transportation., Conclusions: Cost of providing dental treatment for periodontitis patients at public sector specialist settings were substantial and comparable with some non-communicable diseases. These findings provide basis for identifying potential cost-reducing strategies, estimating economic burden of periodontitis management and performing economic evaluation of the specialist periodontal programme.

The aim of this study was to describe the production of specialized outpatient dental services and associated factors in Brazilian municipalities (counties) with and without Specialized Dental Clinics (SDC). Data were collected from the following sources: Information Technology Department of the Unified National Health System, Human Development Atlas for Brazil, and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression was used to fit rates of endodontic procedures, primary care, periodontics, and surgery. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, municipalities with SDC showed higher rates for the above-mentioned procedures than those without, except for primary care. In the final model, including service structure variables, municipalities with type III SDC showed a rate of endodontic procedures that was 2.08 times higher (95%CI: 1.26; 3.44) than those without. Among the structural variables, municipalities with higher health expenditures and more dentists in the Unified National Health System showed consistently higher rates for all types of procedures. The SDC appear to have a positive effect on the local production of specialized procedures (especially endodontic), an effect not explained by structural variables.

A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted during a 3-year randomized controlled clinical trial in a general dental practice in the Netherlands in which 230 6-year-old children (± 3 months) were assigned to either regular dental care, an increased professional fluoride application (IPFA) programme or a non-operative caries treatment and prevention (NOCTP) programme. Information on resource use during the 3-year period was documented by the dental nurse at every patient visit, such as treatment time, travel time and travel distance. Caries increment scores (at D3MFS level) were used to assess effectiveness. Cost calculations were performed using bottom-up micro-costing. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were expressed as additional average costs per prevented DMFS. The ICERs compared with regular dental care from a health care system perspective and societal perspective were, respectively, EUR 269 and EUR 1,369 per prevented DMFS in the IPFA programme, and EUR 30 and EUR 100 in the NOCTP programme. The largest investments for the NOCTP group were made in the first year of the study; they decreased in the second and equalled the costs of control group in third year of the study. From both medical and economic points of view, the NOCTP strategy may be considered the preferred strategy for caries prevention.

The dental licensure exam in the United States has evolved over the past ten years, and two formats-the traditional format and curriculum integrated format-are now available for students to satisfy licensure requirements. The objective of this study was to examine the differences and relative merits of the two formats. A twenty-five-question survey was distributed to the fifty-seven U.S. dental schools at the time. The survey included both quantitative and discrete variables and followed a strategic sequential order. The first set of questions sought to determine what type of board preparatory/mock exam each dental school offered, and the next set of questions asked which licensure exam each school formally offered. The final questions were qualitative in nature and aimed to determine the school representatives' opinions about the curriculum integrated format versus traditional format. Of the fifty-seven schools contacted, thirty-seven agreed to participate (response rate=64.9 percent). Fourteen schools reported that they administer the traditional format only and twelve administer the curriculum integrated format only, while eleven offer both. Thirty-two schools offered mock board exams to their graduating students, and twenty-four of those said their mock exams were identical in format to the actual qualifying clinical exams offered at their institution. The respondents reported no significant advantage to preparing for the curriculum integrated format examination as compared to the traditional format examination with regards to number of clock hours taken from regular curriculum time. In reporting on this study, this article provides an overview of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the two examination formats used for the dental licensure process in the United States.

Objectives: Not-for-profit community dental clinics attempt to address the inequities of oral health care for disadvantaged communities, but there is little information about how they operate. The objective of this article is to explain from the perspective of senior staff how five community dental clinics in British Columbia, Canada, provide services., Methods: The mixed-methods case study included the five not-for-profit dental clinics with full-time staff who provided a wide range of dental services. We conducted open-ended interviews to saturation with eight senior administrative staff selected purposefully because of their comprehensive knowledge of the development and operation of the clinics and supplemented their information with a year's aggregated data on patients, treatments, and operating costs., Results: The interview participants described the benefits of integrating dentistry with other health and social services usually within community health centres, although they doubted the sustainability of the clinics without reliable financial support from public funds. Aggregated data showed that 75% of the patients had either publically funded or no coverage for dental services, while the others had employer-sponsored dental insurance. Financial subsidies from regional health authorities allowed two of the clinics to treat only patients who are economically vulnerable and provide all services at reduced costs. Clinics without government subsidies used the fees paid by some patients to subsidize treatment for others who could not afford treatment., Conclusions: Not-for-profit dental clinics provide dental services beyond pain relief for underserved communities. Dental services are integrated with other health and community services and located in accessible locations. However, all of the participants expressed concerns about the sustainability of the clinics without reliable public revenues., (© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Through the 2009 HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act, the U.S. government committed $27 billion to incentivize the adoption and "meaningful use" of certified electronic health records (EHRs) by providers, including dentists. Given their patient profiles, dental school clinics are in a position to benefit from this time-delimited commitment to support the adoption and use of certified EHR technology under the Medicaid-based incentive. The benefits are not merely financial: rather, the meaningful use objectives and clinical quality measures can drive quality improvement initiatives within dental practices and help develop a community of medical and dental professionals focused on quality. This article describes how dentists can qualify as eligible providers and the set of activities that must be undertaken and attested to in order to obtain this incentive. Two case studies describe the approaches that can be used to meet the Medicaid threshold necessary to be eligible for the incentive. Dentists can and have successfully applied for meaningful use incentive payments. Given the diverse set of patients who are treated at dental schools, these dental practices are among those most likely to benefit from the incentive programs.

Purpose: Minority children and children from lower income families are more likely to experience the burden of oral disease. Since oral disease reduces quality of life, it is a priority to utilize preventive dental services. The research questions ask if affiliated practice increases utilization of preventive dental services by underserved children from birth to 18 years of age, and what the barriers to receiving preventive dental services are and their level of importance., Methods: A survey was administered to parents/guardians of patients from birth to 18 years of age who received preventive dental services from Catholic Healthcare West East Valley Children's Dental Clinic, an affiliated practice dental clinic in Chandler, Arizona. Thirty-four surveys were completed: 21 completed in English and 13 completed in Spanish. The data was analyzed to provide descriptive statistics and non-parametrically analyzed using the Friedman's, Kendall's W and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Tests., Results: The cost of preventive dental services is more important to this population than both convenience of appointment time and distance traveled. As the cost increases for preventive dental services, this population will utilize preventive dental services less frequently., Conclusion: The study indicated that the increase of self-reported utilization of preventive dental services by underserved children, ranging in age from birth to 18 years old, in Arizona affiliated practice dental clinics, was primarily impacted by perceived reduced costs of receiving care. Funding efforts, reimbursement mechanisms and legislative policies should support this dental care delivery model to provide care to underserved children, adults and seniors throughout the U.S.

In many developed countries, the primary role of dental therapists is to care for children in school clinics. This article describes Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)-run, school-based dental programs in Connecticut and explores the theoretical financial impact of substituting dental therapists for dentists in these programs. In schools, dental hygienists screen children and provide preventive services, using portable equipment and temporary space. Children needing dentist services are referred to FQHC clinics or to FQHC-employed dentists who provide care in schools. The primary findings of this study are that school-based programs have considerable potential to reduce access disparities and the estimated reduction in per patient costs approaches 50 percent versus providing care in FQHC dental clinics. In terms of substituting dental therapists for dentists, the estimated additional financial savings was found to be about 5 percent. Nationally, FQHC-operated, school-based dental programs have the potential to increase Medicaid/CHIP utilization from the current 40 percent to 60 percent for a relatively modest increase in total expenditures.

This article estimates the impact of dental therapists treating children on Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) dental clinic finances and productivity. The analysis is based on twelve months of patient visit and financial data from large FQHC dental clinics (multiple delivery sites) in Connecticut and Wisconsin. Assuming dental therapists provide restorative, extraction, and pulpal services and dental hygienists continue to deliver all hygiene services, the maximum reduction in costs is about 6 percent. The limited impact of dental therapists on FQHC dental clinic finances is because 1) dental therapists only account for 17 percent of children services and 2) dentists are responsible for only 25 percent of clinic expenses and cost reductions are related to the difference between dental therapist and dentist wage rates.

The authors estimated the following levels of technical efficiency for three types of dental practices in California where technical efficiency is defined as the maximum output that can be produced from a given set of inputs: generalists (including pediatric dentists), 96.5 percent; specialists, 77.1 percent; community dental clinics, 83.6 percent. Combining this with information on access, it is estimated that the California dental care system in 2009-10 could serve approximately 74 percent of the population.

To develop a long-term, sustainable partnership with dental schools, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) need to assess the financial impact of dental students on their financial operations. Primary concerns are that students will not cover their marginal costs and will reduce the productivity of clinic dentists. This study uses data from Asian Health Services, an FQHC in Oakland, California, to examine revenues generated by senior dental students and by FQHC dentists when students are and are not present. The analysis of ten months of electronic record data showed that two full-time equivalent students generated $420,549 in gross revenues and reduced dentist output by only $29,000. While the results are from just one FQHC, they strongly suggest that students make a significant contribution to clinic productivity and finances.

In the late 1990s, Ohio's citizens expressed to the state leadership that access to dental care was their greatest unmet health need. State-sponsored surveys continued to report that certain populations-the poor, disabled, and minorities-experience higher-than-average rates of dental disease and cannot access care. The Ohio State University College of Dentistry sought to respond to this need by securing a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2002 and began an experiment in engagement with community partners unprecedented in its history. As the state's flagship dental institution, the college committed to a fundamental change in its clinical education of students and began a process of making dental education relevant to our citizens, exposing students to populations they were being trained to help, and bolstering the fragile statewide network of safety-net clinics with providers. This case history offers an operational overview, including some challenges and successes, of one school's journey in community-based dental education.

In community-based dental education programs, student-provided services can be an important source of community clinic and practice revenues. The University of Michigan School of Dentistry has developed a revenue-sharing arrangement with multiple community clinics and practices. During their ten-week externship, senior students produce at least $800 a day in patient care revenues, and the school receives an average of $165 per student per day from community sites. These funds are used to cover program costs and enrich the curriculum. Revenue-sharing with community clinics and practices helps to ensure program longevity and is an increasingly significant source of school revenues.

Dental schools are hard pressed to find the resources to adequately fund their mission of education, research, and service. Over the years, schools have tried to make up for the loss in public funds by increasing student tuition, increasing enrollment, and reducing the growth in faculty and staff salaries and program costs. Unfortunately, these strategies have not solved the financial problems. Declining resources are threatening the future of dental education. Data presented in this report attempt to answer the following question: will community-based dental education restore the fiscal health of dental schools and provide students an equal or better education? By reducing the number of chairs per student and developing revenue-sharing relationships with community clinics, community-based dental education offers a realistic option for putting dental schools on a solid financial footing.

Bone structure is the key to the understanding of fracture risk. The hypothesis tested in this prospective study is that dense mandibular trabeculation predicts low fracture risk, whereas sparse trabeculation is predictive of high fracture risk. Out of 731 women from the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg with dental examinations at baseline 1968, 222 had their first fracture in the follow-up period until 2006. Mandibular trabeculation was defined as dense, mixed dense plus sparse, and sparse based on panoramic radiographs from 1968 and/or 1980. Time to fracture was ascertained and used as the dependent variable in three Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. The first analysis covered 12 years of follow-up with self-reported endpoints; the second covered 26 years of follow-up with hospital verified endpoints; and the third combined the two follow-up periods, totaling 38 years. Mandibular trabeculation was the main independent variable predicting incident fractures, with age, physical activity, alcohol consumption and body mass index as covariates. The Kaplan-Meier curve indicated a graded association between trabecular density and fracture risk. During the whole period covered, the hazard ratio of future fracture for sparse trabeculation compared to mixed trabeculation was 2.9 (95% CI: 2.2-3.8, p<0.0001), and for dense versus mixed trabeculation was 0.21 (95% CI: 0.1-0.4, p<0.0001). The trabecular pattern was a highly significant predictor of future fracture risk. Our findings imply that dentists, using ordinary dental radiographs, can identify women at high risk for future fractures at 38-54 years of age, often long before the first fracture occurs., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study examined the impact of community dental rotations on the clinical productivity of senior students when they returned to the dental school clinic. Data from two classes at the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine were used to compare productivity pre- and post-externship experiences (continuous ten weeks), controlling for several confounding variables. The results indicated a statistically significant and clinically important increase in post-rotation student productivity and revenues. This study suggests that community clinic rotations could offset the loss of dental school revenues during the externship period.

Since 2002, community-based education at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry (COD) has evolved from non-existent to a robust program that is an essential component of the predoctoral program. As part of the college's curricular innovation, community-based education has demonstrated alignment of the COD's mission with that of our parent institution, contributed significantly to student learning and preparedness, and enhanced clinic experiences and revenue. Student interest and support have been and continue to be enthusiastic and valued. The faculty has been generally supportive, but properly focused on demonstrated student learning outcomes. This faculty observation and evaluation, supported by evidence, has resulted in the faculty's rethinking traditional teaching and learning strategies, allowing innovative educational changes.

Junior and senior dental students generate a significant portion of dental school clinical revenues. Some deans and faculty members are concerned that school clinic income declines when students spend substantial time in community clinics on extramural rotations. This study uses data from eight dental schools to examine the difference in senior clinic operating revenues and expenses between schools with extensive community-based dental education programs and those with limited community-based dental education programs. The analysis shows that schools with extensive programs have substantially lower per senior student clinic losses. This is due to having fewer chairs per student and having a larger class size, thus generating more tuition revenues. The economic advantages of community-based dental education programs for their schools are substantial.

Complete denture services at comprehensive care public health clinics are not common in part because of clinician concerns regarding outcomes. Educational debt forgiveness has attracted recent dental graduates to public health dentistry; however, not all recent graduates receive denture education experiences necessary to attain proficiency. While fundamental patient assessment and denture construction are taught, psychological assessment and communication with denture patients requires experience. A thorough understanding of occlusion, phonetics, esthetics and laboratory steps is also necessary. Expecting recent dental graduates to become proficient providing complete dentures at minimal reimbursement levels, with no mentorship or on-site laboratory support, is unrealistic. Public health dental clinics operate at full capacity performing emergency, preventive and restorative procedures. Complete dentures come with a laboratory fee approximately one-half the total reimbursement, meaning a remake drops clinic revenue to zero while doubling expenses. It is understandable that full schedules, marginal reimbursement, unpredictability and the risk of an occasional failure block clinician interest in providing denture services. This one-year report of services describes a three-appointment complete denture technique offering improved patient and laboratory communication, reduced chair time and controlled cost, resulting in high-quality complete dentures.

Purpose: This study's purpose was to describe the workforce, patient, and service characteristics of dental clinics affiliated with US children's hospitals belonging to the National Association of Children's Hospital and Related Institutions (NACHRI)., Methods: A 2-stage survey mechanism using ad hoc questionnaires sought responses from hospital administrators and dental clinic administrators. Questionnaires asked about: (1) clinic purpose; (2) workforce; (3) patient population; (4) dental services provided; (5) community professional relations; and (5) relationships with medical services., Results: Of the 222 NACHRI-affiliated hospitals, 87 reported comprehensive dental clinics (CDCs) and 64 (74%) of CDCs provided data. Provision of tertiary medical services was significantly related to presence of a CDC. Most CDCs were clustered east of the Mississippi River. Size, workload, and patient characteristics were variable across CDCs. Most were not profitable. Medical diagnosis was the primary criterion for eligibility, with all but 1 clinic treating special needs children. Most clinics (74%) had dental residencies. Over 75% reported providing dental care prior to major medical care (cardiac, oncology, transplantation), but follow-up care was variable., Conclusions: Many children's hospitals reported comprehensive dental clinics, but the characteristics were highly variable, suggesting this element of the pediatric oral health care safety net may be fragile.

Objectives: We analyzed the operation of one Connecticut federally qualified health center (FOHC) dental program with seven delivery sites. We assessed the financial operation of the different delivery sites and contrasted the overall performance of the FOHC with private practices., Methods: We obtained data from a pretested financial survey instrument, electronic patient visit records, and site visits. To assess clinic productivity, we used two output measures: patient visits and market value of services. For the latter, we estimated the implicit fee of each service provided in patient visits., Results: On average, these clinics were running a modest deficit, mainly due to startup costs of two new clinics. The primary factor that impacted net revenues was low reimbursement rates, including privately insured patients. When FOHC dental revenues were adjusted to market rates, revenues were close to expenses., Conclusions: FOHC dental clinics are major components of the dental safety net system. This case study suggests that the established clinics use resources as effectively as private practices.

The objectives of this study were to explore how U.S. and Canadian dental schools educate students about special needs patients and which challenges and intentions for curricular changes they perceive. Data were collected from twenty-two dental schools in the United States and Canada with a web-based survey. While 91 percent of the programs covered this topic in their clinical education, only 64 percent offered a separate course about special needs patients. The clinical education varied widely. Thirty-seven percent of the responding schools had a special clinical area in their school for treating these patients. These areas had between three and twenty-two chairs and were funded and staffed quite differently. Most programs covered the treatment of patients with more prevalent impairments such as Down syndrome (91 percent), autism spectrum disorders (91 percent), and motion impairments (86 percent). Written exams were the most common outcome assessments (91 percent), while objective structured clinical examinations (18 percent) and standardized patient experiences (9 percent) were used less frequently. The most commonly reported challenge was curriculum overload (55 percent). The majority (77 percent) planned educational changes over the next three years, with 36 percent of schools planning to increase clinical and 27 percent extramural experiences. The findings showed that the responding U.S. and Canadian dental schools had a wide range of approaches to educating predoctoral students about treating special needs patients. In order to eliminate oral health disparities and access to care issues for these patients, future research should focus on developing best practices for educational efforts in this context.

Dental schools use a variety of clinic management models with the goals of promoting patient care, student education, and fiscal responsibility. In 2004, the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry transitioned to a more generalist model with these goals in mind. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of this clinic model change relative to the quantity of specific procedures completed by students. The quantity of procedures completed by each student from the classes of 1995 through 2009 were compiled from our electronic clinic management system and analyzed. The post-transition group (2004-09) showed a greater number of completed oral diagnosis and treatment planning and root planing procedures per student compared to the pre-transition group (1995-2003), but fewer crowns, root canals, operative procedures, and dentures. Because the higher procedure numbers were for low-cost procedures, our transition to a generalist model did not necessarily enhance clinic income but may support student learning and enhanced patient care.

Objective: The dental safety net includes the facilities, providers, and payment programs that support dental care for underserved populations including those individuals disadvantaged by a variety of social, economic, and health conditions. Its components-health centers, dental schools, clinics, Medicaid-oriented dental practices, free-care programs, hospital emergency rooms, and others-vary in availability, comprehensiveness, continuity, and quality. The objective of this overview is to identify options and opportunities for policy changes to enhance oral health professional workforce in the safety net., Methods: Characteristics of the dental safety net and its components are reviewed and compared., Results: Professionals who now staff the dental safety net are a small subset of US dental providers and few current trainees anticipate practicing in these programs. Therefore, the safety net will continue to confront workforce challenges., Conclusions: Multifactorial policy alternatives to increase the availability of dental professionals who care of the underserved include proposed changes in dental education, licensure, scope of practice for allied dental personnel, and federal and state financing of public insurance. Also needed are local efforts to establish social norms and activities among private dentists that engage more private practitioners in care of the underserved.