Dental Emergency Practice Characteristics Among North Carolina Pediatric and General Dentists.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess after-hours practice characteristics of pediatric dentists (PDs) and general dentists (GDs) and determine how patients-of-record obtain after-hours emergency dental care.

METHODS: A 29-item survey was electronically distributed to PDs and GDs in North Carolina in September 2014. Demographics and after-hours emergency practice characteristics were assessed. Survey respondents were subsequently called after-hours to validate reported after-hours emergency protocol. Descriptive and bivariate statistics compared responses from PDs and GDs. Concordance between survey and telephone responses was analyzed.

RESULTS: Eighty-six (46 percent) PDs and 1,199 (36 percent) GDs completed the survey; 86 (100 percent) and 1,015 (85 percent) met inclusion criteria, respectively. Most dentists allowed patients to reach them via pager/cell phone after-hours (82.1 percent of PDs, 72.8 percent of GDs; P=0.04). More PDs than GDs had established after-hours emergency protocols (95.3 percent versus 56.7 percent, P<0.001), practiced in a group (71.1 percent versus 40.9 percent, P<0.001), and shared call (64.0 percent versus 30.1 percent, P<0.001). Telephone and survey responses significantly differed for GDs (P<0.001) but not PDs (P=0.14).

CONCLUSIONS: After-hours emergency care is an important component of a comprehensive dental home. More pediatric dentists than general dentists provided after-hours emergency dental care. Survey and telephone responses were more consistent and favorable for PDs than GDs. This highlights gaps in emergency dental practice and breakdown of the dental home.