Measure Sets

The Dental Quality Alliance Measure Sets can be found on this page.

Measure Set #1: Dental Caries in Children: Prevention & Disease Management (programmatic measures)

Purpose	Measure	AHRQ Domain
Evaluating Utilization	Use of Services*	Use of Services
	Preventive Services	Use of Services
	Treatment Services	Use of Services
	Ambulatory Care Sensitive Emergency Department Visits for Dental Caries**	Outcome
	Follow-up after Emergency Department Visit for Dental Caries**	Process
Evaluating Quality of Care	Oral Evaluation*	Access/Process
	Topical Fluoride Intensity*	Access/Process
	Sealant use in 6-9 years*	Access/Process
	Sealant use in 10-14 years*	Access/Process
	Care Continuity	Access/Process
	Usual Source of Services	Access/Process
	eMeasure: Oral Health Care Continuity for Children 2-20 Years**	Process
	eMeasure: Oral Health Sealants for Children 6-9 Years**	Process
Evaluating Cost	Per-Member Per-Month Cost	Cost

*NQF Endorsed Measures

**Additional Pediatric Measures

Below are the detailed specifications for the DQA measures. As you implement these measures, we would like your feedback. Please send us information on what worked, challenges you faced, and experiences with these measures. This information will be used as the DQA reviews and updates measure specifications in the future. Please send comments to Diptee Ojha at Ojhad@ada.org.

General Resources	Why Adopt DQA Measures (PDF) Measure User Guide (PDF) Elevated Risk FAQ (PDF)
Utilization of Services	Description: Percentage of all enrolled children under age 21 who received at least one dental service within the reporting. Utilization of Services Specifications (PDF)
Oral Evaluation	Description:Percentage of enrolled children under age 21 who received a comprehensive or periodic oral evaluation within the reporting year. Oral Evaluation Specifications (PDF)
Sealants in 6 – 9 years	Description: Percentage of enrolled children in the age category of 6-9 years at "elevated" risk (i.e., "moderate" or "high") who received a sealant on a permanent first molar tooth within the reporting year. Sealants in 6-9 years Specifications (PDF)
Sealants in 10 – 14 years	Description: Percentage of enrolled children in the age category of 10-14 years at “elevated” risk (i.e., “moderate” or “high”) who received a sealant on a permanent second molar tooth within the reporting year. Sealants in 10-14 years Specifications (PDF)
Topical Fluoride Intensity	Description: Percentage of enrolled children aged 1-21 years who are at “elevated” risk (i.e. “moderate” or “high”) who received at least 2 topical fluoride applications within the reporting year. Topical Fluoride Intensity Specifications (PDF)

For internal quality improvement and research purposes (e.g. monitoring trends/changes over time within programs and plans), a variety of additional parameters may be used to obtain information regarding disparities. For example, a measure can be analyzed using a denominator that only includes those who utilize services (utilizers) -- i.e. among those who received a dental service in the reporting year. Data on various measures also can be stratified on certain characteristics of the population (age ranges, race/ethnicity, urban vs. rural locations, etc.) to provide additional information on variations within programs or plans. To obtain detailed specifications for the full set of DQA measures that includes these additional parameters to support research (not endorsed by NQF) access here. You may also obtain detailed specifications for the additional pediatric DQA measures (not endorsed by NQF).

The report for testing pediatric oral health performance measures in the Florida and Texas Medicaid and CHIP programs, as well as other formative documents, can be found at DQA Measure Activities.

The Dental Quality Alliance acknowledges the support from the American Dental Association Foundation for proving funding [in part] for this project.

The Dental Quality Alliance partnered with the University of Florida Institute for Child Health Policy for this project. Data support for this project was provided by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and DentaQuest.