June 20, 2023
The National Center for Health Research (NCHR) appreciates the opportunity to submit public comments on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Draft Recommendation Statement on Screening and Preventive Interventions for Oral Health in Children and Adolescents Ages 5 to 17 Years.
NCHR is a non-profit think tank that conducts, analyzes, and scrutinizes research on a range of health issues, with particular focus on which prevention strategies and treatments are most effective for which patients and consumers. We do not accept funding from companies that make products that are the subject of our work, so we have no conflicts of interest.
We agree with the recommendation of the USPSTF that there is insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of routine screening performed by primary care clinicians for oral health conditions, including dental caries, in children and adolescents ages 5 to 17 years. Based on the lack of evidence generated specific to primary care in the recent USPSTF comprehensive systematic review it cannot be determined if these screening would be beneficial for this population. Evidence was limited to studies assessing oral health preventive interventions that were administered by dental professionals or in supervised school settings, but not in primary care settings. We recommend that new research be conducted to fill these gaps.