Factors associated with state-mandated dental screening compliance

Beginning in 2008, all children entering kindergarten in Iowa were required to have a dental screening. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors were related to the percentage of students in each school who complied with the mandatory dental screening requirement. Publically available data for the 2014-15 academic year were compiled from state and national reports to examine factors related to dental screening compliance rates for public school kindergarteners. Only public schools and schools with at least 30 kindergarteners were included in this study due to issues of data availability and accuracy. Both school-level and county-level factors were considered. A school satisfactorily met the threshold for screening compliance established by the study if at least ninety percent of kindergarten students received a dental screening. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship of each factor to whether a school met the threshold for screening compliance.

Fifty-six percent of the 504 schools included in this study had at least ninety percent of students receive a dental screening. Schools located in areas with a shortage of dental health professionals or located in urban adjacent areas were more likely to exceed the ninety percent screening compliance threshold. Schools where a greater percentage of students were screened by a dentist or where at least forty percent of schoolchildren were eligible for free or reduced price lunch were less likely to meet the compliance threshold.

Schools with a larger proportion of low-income students, those in metro areas, and those with a higher reliance on dentists performing the oral health screenings could benefit from targeted efforts to improve compliance with mandated dental screenings.