Evaluation of Relationship between Quality and Performance Measures Concepts of Pediatric Oral Health: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The dental quality alliance of the American Dental Association developed quality and performance measure concepts (QMCs) for pediatric dentistry to identify variations in care and to improve quality of care. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the relationship between the proposed QMCs and oral health, measured as caries status. METHODOLOGY: Parents/guardians of new patients presenting to the Nationwide Children's Hospital Dental Clinic for a nonurgent hygiene appointment were asked to complete a 10-question survey that reflected the QMCs. An oral examination was completed on each patient to determine his/her caries status. RESULTS: For the majority of the QMCs evaluated in the study, there was no statistically significant difference in caries status between patients who had attended care according to the QMCs and those who had not. CONCLUSIONS: From the findings, attending care as outlined by the QMCs may be no better than counting procedures as a measure of quality oral health-care outcomes.