Dental Care in Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly: Organizational Structures and Protocols

Related Topics

Oral Health Policy

Objectives

This study uses a national model of community-based long-term services and supports, the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), to identify organizational structures and protocols that can facilitate the delivery of dental examinations.

Methods

Selected independent variables from each of the 10 domains were tested against the reported delivery of dental examinations variable using the Kendall τ and χ2. Twenty-nine programs were included in the final analysis.

Results

Most programs mandated a dental examination within 31–60 days of enrollment (63.6%). Few programs had a dental manual (15.6%) or any quality assurance for dental care (32.3%). A majority of programs (58.8%) stated that they had a protocol for enrollees to receive a cleaning every 6–12 months. Having a system for quality assurance for dental care, protocol for a cleaning every 6–12 months, mandating a comprehensive dental examination and providing preventive dental services onsite with built-in equipment, were all statistically associated with a higher reported delivery of dental examinations.

Oishi, M. M., Momany, E., Collins, R., Cacchione, P., Gluch, J., Cowen, H., Damiano, P., & Marchini, L. Dental Care in Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly: Organizational Structures and Protocols. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.02.012.