Opposition to Early Dental Visit by Dentists: A Qualitative Study on Mothers’ Social Networks

Abstract

Objectives: To examine whether information that mothers received from dentists in their social network was consistent with professional recommendations for the first dental visit at age 1 y. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional qualitative study on mothers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia from 2018 to 2020 to explore how their social networks influence their children’s dental service utilization. In-person, semistructured interviews were conducted with 126 mothers of children ages 3 to 5 y. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using NVivo 12. Two investigators analyzed data using grounded theory and the constant comparative method. Results: Over half of mothers reported a professional relationship with a dentist as part of their social network on children’s oral health. Mothers described the following themes: 1) mothers contacted dentists in their social network for child dental information and to schedule their child’s first dental visit, 2) mothers described dentists’ justifications for the timing of the first dental visit older than age 1 y, 3) mothers described the impact of the dentist declining to see her child, and 4) after the dentist declined to see her child, some mothers did not comply with the dentist’s recommendation of delayed child dental visits because they were given alternative information that encouraged early dental visits. Conclusions: Our findings indicate a need for dentists to reinforce mothers’ dental-seeking behavior for young children and adhere to recommendations on the age 1 dental visit. Knowledge Transfer Statement: Qualitative data on mothers’ social networks show that dentists play a key role in access to early dental visits, particularly when dentists decline to see the mother’s child for visits.