De-Implementing Low-Value Care in Dentistry: The Case for Choosing Wisely Campaigns

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Oral Health Policy
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• De-implementation focuses on reducing low-value care, which includes outdated, harmful, or inefficient practices.
• Efforts to reduce established practices face provider, patient, and system-level barriers.
• The Choosing Wisely campaigns aim to de-implement low-value care through specialty-specific recommendations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore existing Choosing Wisely campaign recommendations within dentistry.
• To analyze how these campaigns address overprescription, overtreatment, and overtesting in oral health.
• To assess the potential of Choosing Wisely for fostering de-implementation in dentistry.

Main Methods:

• Review of current Choosing Wisely campaign recommendations relevant to dental practice.
• Analysis of how recommendations address specific aspects of low-value care: overprescription, overtreatment, and overtesting.
• Exploration of the inclusion and prioritization of care within these recommendations.

Main Results:

• Choosing Wisely campaigns have gained traction in medicine but are less established in oral health.
• Existing dental recommendations offer a foundation for addressing overprescription, overtreatment, and overtesting.
• These campaigns can guide changes in oral health practice, policy, and service delivery.

Conclusions:

• Choosing Wisely recommendations provide a valuable framework for de-implementing low-value care in dentistry.
• Broader adoption can lead to significant improvements in oral health practices and patient outcomes.
• Facilitating substantive changes requires integration into practice, policy, and service delivery.