Utilizing Dental Visits to Boost Childhood Vaccination Rates

During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, data from federal sources indicated a decline in childhood vaccination rates, predominantly because families were avoiding non-urgent visits to healthcare providers. To counteract this trend, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge, inviting innovative solutions to improve vaccine outreach.

Among the participants was Dr. Jessica Jack, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and clinician at Denver Health. Her team hypothesized that integrating medical and dental services could be an effective strategy to increase vaccine delivery to children. Notably, children over nine years old tend to visit dental clinics more frequently than medical clinics, providing an opportunity to reach more adolescents.

Inspired by a dental colleague’s idea to administer vaccines during dental visits, Jack and her team initiated a pilot project within Denver Health. This project aimed to enhance vaccination rates and well-child checkups by co-locating dental and medical services within the same health centers. This model allowed patients to receive dental care and vaccinations in one visit, facilitating easier access.

The results were promising: 122 patients received vaccinations through this integrated approach, representing a 5% increase compared to previous years. The team’s success was recognized through winning the HRSA competition and its monetary prize was reinvested into further developing the program. Recent research published in Pediatrics revealed that this integration significantly increased HPV vaccination rates—from 5.3% to 13.9% during the study period—highlighting the potential of this approach.

Given that HPV is linked to certain cancers, including oropharyngeal cancer, dentists often screen for early signs, making HPV vaccination a natural extension of dental visits. Dr. Jack emphasizes that framing the vaccine as cancer prevention rather than a sexual health issue can improve acceptance among patients and parents.

Denver Health operates six community dental clinics within family health centers, enabling seamless communication between dental and medical providers via electronic health records. When a patient opts for a vaccine, a medical assistant can administer it immediately in the dental setting, making the process convenient and reducing the likelihood of missed opportunities.

However, expanding this model faces regulatory and financial hurdles. While some states permit dentists to administer vaccines, Colorado currently does not. Larger health systems with access to federal vaccine programs have an easier pathway, but private practices may face challenges due to storage costs and regulatory requirements. Moving forward, exploring ways to enable standalone dental practices to provide vaccines could further increase immunization coverage.

This innovative integration exemplifies how combining dental and medical healthcare can improve vaccine outreach and overall public health, especially for adolescents and underserved populations.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-childhood-vaccine-uptake-dental.html