PURPOSE: This hypothesis-generating study sought to identify potential determinants of dental care use and oral health among children living in foster care.
METHOD: Using a grounded theory approach, fourteen key informant interviews were conducted among health and social services professionals experienced with children in foster care and families in western Washington State.
RESULTS: The identified potential determinants of oral health and dental use among children living in foster care included: (1) linguistic and cultural barriers; (2) lack of dentists willing to accept children’s Medicaid dental insurance; (3) lack of resources available to case workers (i.e., large caseload burden) (4) lack of federal funding for specialized dental care; (5) lack of systematic health record-keeping; (6) child transience, leading to the lack of a dental home; (8) foster parents’ competing needs; (7) child behavior problems; and (9) lack of dental “buy in” from adolescents.
CONCLUSION: Additional studies are needed to determine whether children living in foster care achieve oral health, and the extent of their unmet dental need.