Collection and Use of Patient Demographic Information at US Dental School Clinics

The aims of this study were to examine the types of demographic information collected about patients at US dental schools, the ways in which that information was collected, and how it was used.

An online survey was sent in May 2023 to Assistant/Associate Deans of Clinics or Directors of Clinics at all US dental schools that were open with functioning clinics (n = 70).

Among 37 responding dental school clinics, the types of demographic information most frequently collected about clinic patients were age (97%), preferred name (92%), and need for language interpretation (89%). Those least frequently collected were educational attainment (8%), income (10%), and sexual orientation (16%). Racial and ethnic information was collected by 81% of dental clinics, 70% of clinics collected patient gender, and 32% collected patient pronouns. Information was most often collected by patient entry, and the second most common approach was by having a receptionist ask the patient/caregiver. The most common uses of demographic data among responding clinics were for research (58%) and quality assessment/improvement (56%).

This study found a great deal of variation among dental school clinics in the demographic characteristics collected and methods of collection. Dental schools have an opportunity to improve demographic data collection to ensure patient inclusivity and can utilize demographic information to examine care disparities among their patient population and improve care equity.