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This cross-sectional study sought to assess the current awareness, knowledge, and behavior regarding diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontal disease (PD) association among a convenience sample of patients from a large Wisconsin-based integrated medical-dental health care organization serving largely rurally based communities. An anonymous 10-question survey was distributed at regional medical and dental centers of dental and medical clinics of a single health care institution over a 4-week period, to achieve a cross-sectional sampling of patients aged 18 to 80 years. Among 946 respondents, 616 were female. Patient-reported periodicity for dental visits was highest between 6 months and 1 year (56.4%). Respondents reporting “poor-fair” knowledgeability surrounding DM–PD association correlated with highest interest in learning more about DM–PD relationship ( p

This study sought to re-characterize trends and factors affecting electronic dental record (EDR) and technologies adoption by dental practices and the impact of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) act on adoption rates through 2012. A 39-question survey was disseminated nationally over 3 months using a novel, statistically-modeled approach informed by early response rates to achieve a predetermined sample. EDR adoption rate for clinical support was 52%. Adoption rates were higher among: (1) younger dentists; (2) dentists ≤ 15 years in practice; (3) females; and (4) group practices. Top barriers to adoption were EDR cost/expense, cost-benefit ratio, electronic format conversion, and poor EDR usability. Awareness of the Federal HITECH incentive program was low. The rate of chairside computer implementation was 72%. Adoption of EDR in dental offices in the United States was higher in 2012 than electronic health record adoption rates in medical offices and was not driven by the HITECH program. Patient portal adoption among dental practices in the United States remained low.

Objective To effectively achieve a robust survey response rate in a timely manner, an alternative approach to survey distribution, informed by statistical modeling, was applied to efficiently and cost-effectively achieve the targeted rate of return. Design A prospective environmental scan surveying adoption of health information technology utilization within their practices was undertaken in a national pool of dental professionals (N=8000) using an alternative method of sampling. The piloted approach to rate of cohort sampling targeted a response rate of 400 completed surveys from among randomly targeted eligible providers who were contacted using replicated subsampling leveraging mailed surveys. Methods Two replicated subsample mailings (n=1000 surveys/mailings) were undertaken to project the true response rate and estimate the total number of surveys required to achieve the final target. Cost effectiveness and non-response bias analyses were performed. Results The final mailing required approximately 24% fewer mailings compared to targeting of the entire cohort, with a final survey capture exceeding the expected target. An estimated $5000 in cost savings was projected by applying the alternative approach. Non-response analyses found no evidence of bias relative to demographics, practice demographics, or topically-related survey questions. Conclusion The outcome of this pilot study suggests that this approach to survey studies will accomplish targeted enrollment in a cost effective manner. Future studies are needed to validate this approach in the context of other survey studies.

Objective: Emerging evidence-based information supports incorporation of point-of-care screening of individuals at-risk for undiagnosed medical conditions in dental settings. In this study, dental provider’s knowledgeability, attitude and behavior regarding chairside medical screening was assessed across nine federally qualified health center (FQHC)-operationalized dental centers integrated into a large Midwestern US healthcare organization to establish receptivity among regional dental providers. Further, this pilot effort informed the study design and survey tool for conducting a larger statewide study. Methods: Knowledgeability surrounding point-of-care screening, was piloted via a multiple-choice survey targeting 100 regional FQHC dental providers (dentists and dental hygienists) utilizing SurveyMonkey®. The survey captured provider demographics, medical knowledgeability, attitudes, and current practice patterns with conduct of chairside medical screening. Chi-square analysis compared responses based on the respondent’s gender, year of graduation and clinical role. Results: A 26% response rate was achieved. The 26 responding dental providers reported screening for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, human papilloma virus, hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus and adverse events of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with a frequency of 88%, 37%, 8%, 42%, 21%, 29%, 25%, 25% and 37% respectively. Willingness to incorporate chairside screening into clinical practice that yielded immediate results was indicated by 57% of respondents. The most important factors associated with engagement of medical screening included time investment (92%), patient willingness (88%), liability (84%), insurance coverage (56%) and cost (52%). Conclusions: Overall, this pilot study indicated that dental providers’ attitude relative to chairside screening for medical conditions was favorable. While respondents indicated willingness to collect oral fluids for salivary diagnostics and blood pressure and height/ weight measurements, lack of willingness to utilize finger-stick approaches for assessing glycemic status was identified. A statewide study is currently being planned to establish a comprehensive understanding of barriers impeding adoption of chairside screening for medical conditions in a dental setting.

Evaluation of current knowledgeability, attitudes, and practice behaviors of medical providers from a large health care system toward oral health was undertaken as a pilot effort to better understand and integrate oral health into the overall health care delivery.Invitations to complete a 28-question survey, designed in a web-based platform (SurveyMonkey(®)), were emailed to 1407 medical multispecialty physicians, residents, and nurses within the health system. The questionnaire included sections on provider demographics, oral health knowledgeability and attitudes, and current practice conducting oral health screenings.A 14% (n = 199/1407) response rate was achieved for survey completion. There were 16% who reported good coverage of oral/dental health topics in their medical training curriculum. Competency level was 30% for identifying tooth decay and oral pathology. There were 95% who reported never applying fluoride varnish in their practice, while80% answered knowledge-based questions correctly. Frequency rates for dental referral by the medical providers were 32% 'frequently' and 68% 'infrequently.' Perceptions of optimal frequency for conducting oral health assessment in their professional practices ranged from 69% indicating 'frequently' to 25% indicating 'infrequently.'Overall, positive attitudes were observed toward incorporation of oral health examination into medical practice. The study identified lack of oral health treatment and infrequent referral by medical providers to dental providers. Results support likelihood for acceptance of care models that incorporate a medical/dental team-based approach complemented by oral health training for medical providers to enhance holistic health care delivery. Limitations of this pilot study include potential selection bias and lack of generalizability beyond our institution; further studies are planned in additional settings statewide to validate findings.