Tracking early visits to the dentist: a look at the first 3 years of the Manitoba Dental Association's Free First Visit program.

INTRODUCTION: In 2010, the Manitoba Dental Association launched its Free First Visit (FFV) program to provide dental screening for infants and toddlers. In this article, we review 3 years of FFV data submitted by participating dentists. METHODS: Data from tracking forms were reviewed for children</=36 months of age. These forms include the age of the child at the time of their FFV, their home postal code and caries status. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were carried out, and postal code geomapping was completed. RESULTS: Of the 8396 tracking forms submitted, 51.8% were for boys. The mean age at the time of the first visit was 24.2+/-7.8 months. Although only 8.5% had an FFV by 12 months, 26.7% had an FFV by 18 months. The average number of FFVs per month was 231.4+/-49.7. Postal code mapping revealed that participation was highest for children in the southern half of the province, including some high-needs neighbourhoods in Winnipeg. Pediatric dentists provided most FFVs and saw significantly younger children compared with general dentists (23.8+/-7.8 months of age vs. 25.2+/-7.7 months, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although many Manitoba children have had an FFV, few visit a dentist by 12 months, as recommended by the dental profession. There is a need to improve the proportion of children visiting a dentist by the recommended age, and general practitioners should assume a greater role in providing this service.