Abstract
Aim
This was to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based program to promote dental registration and access to dental services for preschool children residing in areas of high social deprivation using monthly registration data provided by the Central Services Agency (CSA).Design
A quasi-experimental non-equivalent two group comparison.Setting
Areas of high social deprivation in the greater Belfast area.Methods
The dental registration program was conducted by community-based nurses (health visitors). The health visitors provided oral health education and distributed registration vouchers to mothers of new babies during home visits. The mothers exchanged the vouchers for motivational materials from the participating dental practices. Preschool child registration data were obtained from the CSA to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.Results
The registration rates were significantly greater 5 months after the program for 0-2-year old children residing in the intervention wards compared with control wards. During the program the rate of change in registration for the 0-2-year-old group residing in the intervention wards was significantly greater compared with those residing in the control wards (t [DF:21]=4.26: pConclusion
The adoption of a community-based approach assisted in promoting dental registration and access to dental services for preschool children residing in areas of high social deprivation.