Primary care medical setting is gaining popularity as a place to provide preventive dental services.
Young children from low-income families experience high levels of tooth decay and face many barriers to getting dental treatment and preventive services. However, because these children usually visit their pediatrician or other primary care provider far more frequently than a dentist, the primary care medical setting is gaining popularity as a place to provide preventive dental services. Currently, physicians in more than 400 pediatric primary care offices in North Carolina (NC) have been trained to screen for tooth decay, so that referrals for those in need can be made to dentists. This effort is part of a preventive dental program known as “Into the Mouths of Babes”
