NMDA Journal Fall 2019

16 New Mexico Dental Journal, Fall 2019  continued from page 15 were the greatest barrier to address (Figure 3). Financial costs were followed by inadequate levels of education (17.9% in DRC, 28.6% in ASC) and odontophobia (15.4% in DRC, 17.1% in ASC) in the UNM dental clinic patients (Figure 3). This trend was found to be the same among male and female patients, with financial costs still being suggested as the greatest barrier to address. A comparison by age couldn’t be made due to the pool of interviewees being too small. Next the patients were asked, “Why they came to the UNM dental clinic instead of a different dental clinic,”many of the answers were similar to those from the previous question. A majority of the pa- tients (53.8% in DRC, 65.7% in ASC) stated that they came to UNM because of their financial status or since their insurance was accept- ed (Figure 4). Other reasons were given, but they did not account for even half of the total answers. Of the patients’ insurance providers, most of the patients in the ASC were Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare recipients (44.4% of males, 52.9% of females), regardless of the patient’s gender (Figure 5). However, the DRC had a greater percentage of patients (76.0% of males, 71.4% of females) who were on an insurance that wasn’t among these three, including private insurances. There were a few patients who didn’t have any insurance, but this population percentage may be smaller since this data doesn’t include individuals who declined to respond. After, the patients received a few questions about their oral health behaviors, including “if a parent had taught them their oral health behaviors during childhood” and “if they agreed that their provider communicated well with them.” In the DRC, almost twice the number of patients agreed (38.5%) that their parents taught them their oral health behaviors as compared to those who disagreed (20.5%). For patients in the ASC, a similar number of patients agreed (45.7%) and disagreed (37.1%) that their parents taught them their oral health behaviors. Of these patients, over 60% of the interviewees in both the DRC and ASC clinics believed that they understood what their provider had communicated to them (less than 2% disagreed). Un- fortunately, any patient who didn’t agree or disagree (remainders) were among those who either could not recall, or declined to re- spond, if their parent had taught them their oral health behaviors or if their healthcare provider had communicated well with them. Finally, the patients were asked about “whether they or someone in their family was a tobacco-user.” Most of the patients stated that they did not use tobacco (76.9% in DRC, 51.4% in ASC), and neither did their family (76.9% in DRC, 40.0% in ASC). However, there was a higher percentage of ASC patients (31.4%), according to (Figure 6), who were tobacco-users than in the Dental Residency Clinic (5.1%). Interestingly, most of the patients who were current or former tobacco-users had at least one close family member who also was a tobacco-user (100.0% in DRC, 81.8% in ASC). Discussions After compiling the interview data into an Excel spreadsheet, the infor- mation provided was analyzed for potential vulnerability in certain pa- tients, focusing on the New Mexican populations served by the UNM Dental Residency Clinic and Ambulatory Surgical Center. Percentage of Patients with Specified Insurance Provider 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% Medicaid/CHIP/Medicare Other Insurance Uninsured (Figure 5) Patients’ Insurance Provider by Gender & UNM Clinic, 2019 UNM Clinic Name & Gender Dental Residency Clinic - Male Responses Ambulatory Surgical Center - Male Responses Dental Residency Clinic - Female Responses Ambulatory Surgical Center - Female Responses 24.0% 44.4% 50.0% 5.6% 21.4% 52.9% 29.4% 17.6% 71.4% 7.1% 76.0% Percentage of Patients who Responded with Each Reason, by UNM Dental Clinic 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 10.3% 14.3% 17.9% 11.4% 10.3% 53.8% 65.7% 2.9% 5.1% 2.6% 5.7% Dental Residency Clinic Ambulatory Surgical Center (Figure 4) What Was the Reasoning Behind Why the Patient Came to UNM Dental Clinics Instead of a Different Dental Clinic?, 2019 Reason the Patient Came to UNM Student Service Options Language Barrier Financial Cost/ Insurance Acceptance Employee Advanced Technology