2022: Consumers Experiences with and Attitudes toward Receiving Health Screenings at Dental Visits

Integrating overall health screenings into dental visits ensures individuals receive both necessary dental care and important medical screenings, both which benefit patients and the overall health care system. This study examined consumers’ experiences with and attitudes toward receiving health screenings from dental providers.

During this presentation, Adrianna Sonnek, MPH, shared data from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and NORC at the University of Chicago nationally representative State of Oral Health Equity in America (SOHEA) survey in January-February 2022. Adults were asked about their experiences with and attitudes toward receiving routine health screenings in a dental office.

Principal findings include:

• Health screenings are not commonly done during dental visits, although most adults are comfortable with dental providers doing such screenings.
• Integrating health screenings into dental visits is an important and infrequently used opportunity that can benefit patients and the overall healthcare system.