A retrospective registry study comparing a portable school-based model and a standard clinic-based model

Abstract

We compared a school-based portable and a clinic-based standard model for examining the oral health of school-age children in Finland. Two socioeconomically comparable regions were examined to discover the differences between these models for providing oral health examinations for primary school-age children in Finland. A retrospective registry study using patient records from the electronic health system (2020–2023) was conducted in two socioeconomically comparable regions: Nokia (portable model, n=481) and Tampere (standard model, n=538). The analysed variables included the number of visits, the longest gap between visits, diagnoses, oral health care procedures and recall intervals. The standard model exhibited significantly longer gaps between visits (median 25 vs. 11 months, p<0.001) and fewer individualised recall intervals (11.7% vs. 24.9%, p<0.001). Recall intervals were longer in the standard model (17 vs. 6 months, p<0.001). The standard model also showed higher prevalence of caries (21.1% vs. 11.7%, p<0.005), restorative treatments (41.3% vs. 33.1%, p<0.001) and tooth extractions (35.5% vs. 22.4%, p=0.005). The portable model had a higher proportion of children who received only a dentist's examination (35% vs. 9.6%, p<0.001) compared to hygienist-led examinations. Organisational factors play a more significant role than mere geographical accessibility in ensuring effective oral health care in Finland.