Disease Management of Early Childhood Caries: Results of a Pilot Quality Improvement Project

Abstract

A risk-based DM approach utilizing QI strategies to address ECC can be implemented into practice and has the potential to improve care and health outcomes.

Pediatric Dental-Focused Interprofessional Interventions

“…Dental personnel may also serve effectively as helping professionals in ECC counseling 4748 but would require sufficient compensation to routinely implement disease management protocols in practice 49 to offset income lost from reductions in dental repair. The high cost of dental professionals and their sophisticated clinical expertise, however, suggest that engaging them in family-level counseling is inherently inefficient while limiting their availability to function at the top of their scope of practice.…”

Outcomes of a Quality Improvement Project Examining Early Childhood Caries and Improving Identification of At Risk Patients in a Pediatric Medical Home Setting

“…A risk-based disease management approach to address ECC has been successfully implemented in hospital-based dental practices and has demonstrated better clinical outcomes than traditional approaches to caries management. At one site, the disease management group experienced a 62% lower risk of new caries (Ng et al, 2012). Interviewers also found parents receptive to use of a disease management protocol and appreciative of explanations why their children may have developed ECC (Ng et al, 2012).…”

“…At one site, the disease management group experienced a 62% lower risk of new caries (Ng et al, 2012). Interviewers also found parents receptive to use of a disease management protocol and appreciative of explanations why their children may have developed ECC (Ng et al, 2012).…”

Disease Management of Early Childhood Caries: ECC Collaborative Project

“…Unless the caries balance is altered, new and recurrent caries are likely to occur [12]. On the other hand, a successful rebalance of risk and protective factors may slow down or completely halt the disease process, resulting in caries arrest, if not also preventing the onset of new disease [13]. …”

“…Contemporary approaches to caries prevention and management modeled after medical management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity and asthma, have been described in the scientific literature and are herein known as chronic disease management (DM) [11, 13–15]. DM differs from the traditional approach of oral health care providers relying on a surgical treatment model in response to the disease, while telling the patients what to do.…”