If the caller does not want to schedule a comprehensive examination for their child, what’s the next step?
If this is the first time this child is seeing a dentist, it could also be the last. Don’t let that happen! You and your office staff have a unique opportunity to educate the parent on the importance of oral health and begin the process of establishing a dental home for this child. As a dental professional, it is important to inform parents of the value of a comprehensive examination; however, if this is not an option for the parent:
CDA encourages members to consider offering to screen the child and complete the assessment form in your office without charge. The law itself simply requires an “assessment” of the child’s oral health and the completion of the data collection tool. This requirement is intended, at a minimum, to identify if further dental examination and treatment is required.
If you choose to do a screening, rather than a comprehensive exam in your office, be very clear when the appointment is established that you will be conducting the screening, at no charge, as a public service. When the adult and child arrive, a consent form, very similar to the consent form used at school-based screenings, must be signed. This form will make it explicit that the child receiving the screening does not become a patient-of-record and will establish the parameters of the free service you are providing.
This is the critical place where the parent becomes educated about the condition of their child’s oral health, the consequences if disease is not treated and the benefits of ongoing care. This is the place where a “screening” becomes the opportunity to establish a dental home. All children who leave your office after a screening should leave with a document that informs them of the results of the screening.
CDA's and CSPD's jointly developed consent form for in-office screenings is available in multiple languages:
Oral Health Screening Consent and Recommendations (English)
Oral Health Screening Consent and Recommendations (Chinese)
Oral Health Screening Consent and Recommendations (Hmong)
Oral Health Screening Consent and Recommendations (Russian)
Oral Health Screening Consent and Recommendations (Spanish)
Oral Health Screening Consent and Recommendations (Vietnamese)