Continuity of care in a county dental public health center

Examination of continuity of care, periodic preventive dental visits in a county dental public health center, was the focus of this study. The purpose of the study was to investigate: a) the relation between continuity of care and untreated dental caries, the unmet restorative dental treatment need, in low SES children in a county dental health center; and b) the association of certain family characteristics with continuity of care. If children failed to return for periodic appointments, were they being cared for in the private sector or was their oral health significantly poorer than the regular users? What specific family characteristics were associated with periodic preventive dental services? The investigation was a comparative study between two groups of financially eligible families, a continuous care group and noncontinuous care group. The information gained through the study was useful in devising strategies which would aid in the satisfaction of a primary objective of a dental public health treatment facility: to provide the opportunity for low SES children to have access to regular, periodic, preventive dental visits.