SUMMARY OF FINDINGS - Fremont County, Colorado

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Canon City, Colorado August 14 and 15, 2015

"Thank you! The fact that I can smile and not worry is huge. You're amazing." COMOM Patient

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The intent of this report is to provide a summary of the demographic, dental health, and clinical characteristics of patients attending the Canon City COMOM dental clinic, and to also delineate their perspectives of the clinic experience. This information will serve as a framework for informing future planning of COMOM clinics.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Treatment Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Exit Interview Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Dental Procedures Performed and Donated Fees (Overview) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Patients Undergoing Dental Evaluation and Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Patient Encounters Across Dental Departments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Demographic Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 COMOM Dental Site and Patients' Home Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Estimated Household Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Dental Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Dental Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Emergency Department Visits for Dental Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Dental Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Tobacco Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Further Dental Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Oral Health Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Patients' COMOM Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Patient Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

A: Patient Treatment Form B: Patient Interview Form C: Dental Procedures Performed and Donated Fees (Detail) D: Contributors E: Volunteers F: Images

-1-

INTRODUCTION

Dental care is unattainable for many individuals. Among these individuals, it is common to find severe decay, infection, and pain. Oral disease is progressive and cumulative, and becomes more complex over time. It can affect the ability to eat, and how a person looks and communicates. Oral health is inseparable from general health, and can affect self-esteem and compromise a person's ability to work at home, at school, or on the job.

In August 2015, the Colorado Mission of Mercy (COMOM) held a two-day dental clinic in Canon City, Colorado. Volunteer dentists from throughout the state embodied community stewardship by closing their dental practices and donating their labor and enumerable medical and dental supplies to enable patients to have care. These dentists, along with hygienists, assistants, office staff, lab technicians, and an array of other volunteers provided donated oral healthcare services to individuals who otherwise could not afford care.

The Harrison School was transformed into a large-scale dental clinic in which 150 dentists provided nearly 1,200 patients dental care. The gym was set-up for oral surgery, endodontic and restorative procedures, dental hygiene, and pediatric dentistry. The commons area was used for imaging, and classrooms were used for the preparation of flippers and dentures. More than $1,100,000 in donated care was provided.

John Kearney, DDS, and Alex VanAcker, DDS, who were the Canon City Site Chairs, explained, "Access to dental care is a huge problem for many families especially for those living in rural areas. Many individuals cannot eat, sleep, or concentrate at work or school because of oral pain. COMOM helped a large number of individuals with much needed dental care. "

In order to promote ongoing oral health, patients were given one-on-one instruction on how to care for their teeth and the importance of preventive dental care. In addition, each patient was provided a list of low-cost dental care options for further treatment, and a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss. Patients also received information on the dental benefits available through Medicaid.

Patients were resoundingly grateful for the dental treatment they received. They were appreciative of the relief from pain and the gift of a smile, especially during financial hard times. A patient explained, "You've made it possible for me to chew food again . . . and to smile."

COMOM has provided 12,000 patients with more than $9,600,000 in dental care services since the program's inception in 2007.

Table 1. COMOM Dental Clinics 2007 ? 2015

YEAR

LOCATION

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Alamosa Loveland Brighton Colorado Springs

Brush Pueblo Greeley Henderson Canon City

NUMBER OF PATIENTS 1,301 1,411 1,297 1,432 1,375 1,682 1,265 1,323 1,196

-2-

VOLUNTEERS

As shown in Table 2, the success of the Canon City COMOM was due in large part to the 972 individuals who volunteered their services. (Appendix E displays a name listing of the volunteers.)

Table 2. Canon City COMOM Volunteers

Dentists

150

Dental Assistants

151

Dental Hygienists

84

Dental Lab Technicians

30

Dental Coders/Office Staff

51

Dental Equipment/Supply Support

21

Dental Students

58

Predental Students

21

Dental Assisting Students

16

Dental Hygiene Students

14

Nondental Health Professionals

77

(massage therapists, medical assistants, nurses,

paramedics, pharmacists, pharmacy techs)

Community Volunteers

299

TOTAL

972

TREATMENT DATA*

Overall, 1,196 patients were seen at the Canon City COMOM. During the two-day dental clinic, 89 patients underwent a dental evaluation only, and 1,107patients underwent both a dental evaluation and treatment. The dental services provided for COMOM patients were documented via a treatment record. (Appendix A).

The reasons given by patients for undergoing only a dental evaluation, and not going onto treatment, are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Reasons for Patients Not Undergoing Dental Treatment

Not feeling well Too apprehensive Health status prohibited treatment (e.g., blood pressure or glucose reading too high) Family member needed to be taken home Unable to wait (e.g., needed to go to work) Desired treatment no longer available due to time constraints (e.g., dentures, flippers) Desired treatment unavailable (e.g., complicated extractions, tooth implants)

EXIT INTERVIEW DATA*

Of 1,107 patients undergoing treatment at COMOM, 1,074 participated in exit interviews; a 97 percent response rate.

The interview was comprised of 22 questions, asking patients about their pain status and the time frame of their most recent dental care, insurance status, demographic factors, and about their COMOM experience including whether they received oral health education. (Appendix B displays the exit interview questionnaire.)

*Throughout the report, findings will be displayed with a denominator (N=X,XXX). The denominator will vary. It will represent the number of patients with data available related to the particular item being examined.

-3-

DENTAL PROCEDURES PERFORMED AND DONATED FEES*

The number of patients seen at the Canon City COMOM totaled 1,196, with $1,151,113 in donated dental services provided to these individuals. The donated fees amounted to $962 per patient.

A cross-section of 6,924 procedures was performed at the 2015 dental clinic. (Table 4, Figure 1)

Table 4. Dental Procedures Performed and Donated Fees (N=6,924)

TREATMENT

PROCEDURES

NUMBER OF

CATEGORIES

PROCEDURES

Evaluation

Oral exams, oral cancer screening

1,731

Imaging

Intraoral-periapical, bitewing, panoramic films

1,325

Preventive

Prophylaxis, topical fluoride, sealants

1,132

Restorative

Fillings, crowns

1,243

Endodontic

Root canal therapies, pulp cap, pulpotomies,

85

Periodontic

Debridements, gingivectomy/gingivoplasty

134

Prosthodontic Partial and full dentures, denture repair

176

Surgical

Extractions, alveoloplasties

1,077

Miscellaneous Occlusion adjustments, odontoplasty

21

TOTALS

6,924

DONATED FEES

$ 151,290 71,650 71,920

399,417 66,970 26,685

110,031 249,274

3,876 $1,151,113

Figure 1. Distribution of Dental Procedures (N=6,924)

Restorative 18%

Imaging 19%

Surgical 16%

Preventive 16%

Evaluation 25%

Prosthodontic 3% Endodontic 1% Periodontic 2%

*Detailed findings delineating the dental procedures perform and donated fees are shown in Appendix C.

-4-

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download