Visiting the dentist: a behavioral community analysis of participation in a dental health screening and referral program.

Researchers mailed a free dental-screening card to Medicaid families. They then tested three low-cost nudges: a postcard plus two reminder calls, a small gift, a short problem-solving chat, or gift plus chat. Families were picked at random for each group.

The simple postcard and two calls tripled the number of families who took their kids to the dentist. Adding a gift or problem-solving did not beat the calls alone. Calls cost pennies, so they gave the biggest bang for the buck.

Heald et al. (2020) extends this idea to autism. They show kids with ASD and lower IQ still miss cleanings even when services exist. Reminders help, but they are not enough for every family.

Shawler et al. (2021) shift the focus. Their survey of mothers finds the new wall is dentist willingness and cost, not forgetting. The 1982 trick still works, yet today’s barrier is supply, not demand.

Bustos et al. (2008) offers a cousin lesson. A one-page parent prompt cut infant cry after shots. Like the dental calls, tiny instructions aimed at parents can change health follow-through without big staff time.

You can copy the 1982 playbook today. Add a postcard, two quick calls, and a calendar reminder to your discharge packet. It costs almost nothing and can triple follow-up for Medicaid clients. If the family has a child with ASD or low IQ, pair the calls with caregiver coaching and dentist pre-approval to beat the new barriers shown in later studies.