165 - Assessing Pediatric Dental Urgent Care Utilization and SDOH

Abstract: Hypothesis: Pediatric patients affected by adverse social determinants of health are more likely to utilize emergency dental services. Social and structural barriers contribute to preventable acute dental conditions requiring urgent care.

Purpose: The aim of this observational study is to understand how a child’s social determinants of health may predict urgent care utilization patterns in an urban university-based pediatric dental clinic.

Methods: Caregivers of children, who were not patients of record, presenting to the pediatric dental urgent care clinic at the University of Illinois-Chicago were recruited. Caregivers were asked to complete a survey that included the Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs assessment, demographic information, child’s pain assessment using the Wong-Bake Faces Pain Scale, and the dental diagnosis at the urgent care visit.

Results: Twenty-nine patients were included in the study. Chronic dental caries (24.1%) was the most frequent reason for seeking urgent dental care followed by trauma in the permanent dentition (13.8%). Approximately 45% of the participants reported experiencing barriers related to at least one SDOH. There was no significant difference in likelihood of experiencing difficulties in accessing emergency dental care between children receiving regular dental care and those who did not. About half of the study participants reported concerns with the ability to pay for treatment as a barrier to seeking care. Additional analyses are pending.

Conclusions: Pediatric patients presenting for urgent dental care may also be impacted by other health determinants that can influence overall health outcomes.