[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2617-2618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00654]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-24-1346; Docket No. CDC-2023-0102]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project 
titled Oral Health Basic Screening Survey for Children. The project 
provides State-specific data on dental caries (tooth decay) and dental 
sealants from a State-representative sample of elementary school 
children or children enrolled in Head Start programs and has been used 
by States to monitor oral health status of children and evaluate public 
health programs and policies.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before March 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2023-
0102 by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to www.regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (www.regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed 
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection 
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires 
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected;
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses; and
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Oral Health Basic Screening Survey for Children (OMB Control No. 
0920-1346, Exp. 8/31/2024)--Extension--National Center for Chronic 
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Dental caries (tooth decay) is one of the most common chronic 
diseases among children in the United States and can lead to pain, 
infection, and diminished quality of life throughout the lifespan. 
Dental sealants are a cost-effective measure to prevent caries but 
remain underutilized. To address States' critical need for State-level 
oral health surveillance data on dental caries and sealants, the 
Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) developed 
and released an oral health screening survey protocol referred to as 
the Basic Screening Survey (BSS) in 1999 in collaboration with the Ohio 
Department of Health and with technical assistance from the CDC 
Division of Oral Health.
    BSS is a non-invasive visual observation of the mouth performed by 
trained screeners including dental and non-dental health professionals 
(e.g., dentists, hygienists, school nurses), and is not duplicative of 
any other Federal collection. Though the National Health and Nutrition 
Examination Survey (NHANES) collects national data on oral health 
status including dental caries and sealants based on clinical 
examination, it is not designed to provide State-level data. BSS is 
designed to be easy to perform while being consistent and aligned with 
the oral health Healthy People objectives, which are based on NHANES 
measures. BSS is the only data source that provides State-
representative data on oral health status based on clinical 
examination. BSS is also used to monitor State progress toward key 
national oral health objectives.
    The BSS is a State-tailored survey administered and conducted by 
individual States. CDC has supported some of the 50 States to build and 
maintain their oral health surveillance system and ASTDD to provide 
technical assistance to States through State and partner cooperative 
agreements since 2001. Conducting BSS for third graders is a key 
component of that support. The target populations include school 
children in grades K-3 and children enrolled in Head Start in 50 States 
and Washington, DC. ASTDD and CDC recommend that States conduct BSS at 
minimum for third graders at least once every five years. Individual 
States determine how often to conduct BSS and which grade or grades to 
target based on their program needs and available resources. Forty-
seven States have conducted BSS for children, and all of the 47 
conducted BSS in Grade 3. Thirty-two States also have conducted BSS in 
one or more other grades (K-2) or in Head Start. CDC estimates that 
approximately 34 States, including 20 States currently funded by CDC, 
will conduct one BSS, at least for third grade, during the period for 
which this approval is being sought.
    State health departments administer the survey by determining 
probability samples, arranging logistics with selected schools or Head 
Start sites, gaining consent, obtaining demographic

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data, training screeners, conducting the oral health screening at 
schools or Head Start sites. Screeners record four data points either 
electronically or on a paper form: (1) presence of treated caries; (2) 
presence of untreated tooth decay; (3) urgency of need for treatment; 
and (4) presence of dental sealants on at least one permanent molar 
tooth.
    State programs enter, clean and analyze the data; de-identify it; 
and respond to ASTDD's annual email request for State-aggregated 
prevalence of dental caries and sealants. ASTDD reviews the data to 
ensure that both survey design and data meet specific criteria before 
sending it to CDC for publication on the CDC's public-facing Oral 
Health Data website (www.cdc.gov/oralhealthdata).
    BSS for children serves as a key State oral health surveillance 
data source and facilitates State capacity to: (1) monitor children's 
oral health status, trends, and disparities, and compare with other 
States; (2) inform planning, implementation and evaluation of effective 
oral health programs and policies; (3) measure State progress toward 
Healthy People objectives; and (4) educate the public and policy makers 
regarding cross-cutting public health programs. CDC also uses the data 
to evaluate performance of CDC oral health funding recipients.
    The estimated total annualized burden hours for the survey across 
the 34 States over the three years of this request are 40,207. There 
are no costs to children respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                       Average
                                                       Number of       Number of     burden per    Total burden
      Type of respondents            Form name        respondents    responses per  response (in    (in hours)
                                                                      respondent       hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child..........................  Screening form...         150,370               1          5/60          12,531
Parent/caretaker...............  Consent..........         150,370               1          1/60           2,506
Screener.......................  Screening form...             301               1        666/60           3,341
School/site....................  Participation               2,890               1         68/60           3,275
                                  form.
State Official.................  Data Submission                34               1     32,742/60          18,554
                                  form.
                                                   -------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................  .................  ..............  ..............  ............          40,207
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health 
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-00654 Filed 1-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P