ABSTRACT
In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to already oversubscribed specialist paediatric dental services, a pilot of an enhanced primary care paediatric dental pathway, known as the Child Friendly Dental Practice (CFDP) scheme, was commissioned by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership. Supported by a transformational commissioning approach, the ambition of the CFDP pilot was to manage or stabilise the oral health of high-need paediatric patients who had been referred to specialist dental services within Community or Hospital Dental Service settings, through timely access to primary care clinicians who were confident and experienced in treating children. The theory of change of the CFDP pilot proposed that rapid access to enhanced primary dental care would reduce the need for onward referral to specialist paediatric dental services, whilst also stabilising the oral health of children who require more complex management in specialist services. A formative evaluation of the phase one pilot implementation of the CFDP Scheme has demonstrated the potential of the CFDP Scheme to improve access to dental services for paediatric patients referred from their General Dental Practitioner. Comparison of waiting times between the CFDP pathway and the standard paediatric dental referral pathway have revealed substantially reduced waiting times to access care along the CFDP pathway, while less than 30% of those who attended CFDPs required onward referral to specialist paediatric dental services. Encouragingly, similar attendance and treatment completion rates were noted among patients from all levels of socio-economic deprivation, reducing concerns regarding the potential for service-based interventions to increase oral health inequalities. Following successful completion of the phase one pilot implementation and evaluation, the CFDP Scheme has now been rolled out across all localities in Greater Manchester as part of a second phase pilot implementation. Public Health Competencies; Equitable healthcare provision, Partnership working, Evidence-based public health, Systems thinking, Transformational commissioning, Healthcare evaluation.