Trishna PokhrelDental home according to American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) can be defined as” The dental home is the ongoing relationship between the aspects of oral health care delivered in a comprehensive continuously accessible, coordinated and family-centered way.Establishment of dental home begins no later than 12 months of age and includes referral to dental specialists when appropriate”.
Ideal characteristics of dental home
| Characteristics | Description |
| Accessible |
-Care provided in child's community. -All insurance accepted and changes in coverage accomodated. |
| Family centered |
-Recognition of centeredness of family. -Unbiased complete information is shared on ungoing basis. |
| Continuous | -Same primary care providers from infancy through adolescence. |
| Comprehensive |
-Healthcare available 24 hours perday, seven days per week. -Preventive, primary, tertiary care provided. |
| Coordinated | -Family linked to support education and community services. |
| Compassionate | -Expressed and demonstrated concerned for child and family. |
| Culturally competent | -Cultural background recognized, valued, respected. |
Advantages of Dental home
- Embraces the importance of early intervention with preventive strategies based on the risk of the patient.
- Encourages the first dental visit by approximately 1 year of age.
- It helps to provide anticipatory guidance to the parents so that they are aware of their children’s growth and development as well as the possible risk factors that occurs in their child as they grow.