文章基本信息

标题：Does Preventive Care Reduce Severe Pediatric Dental Caries?
本地全文：下载
作者：Helen H. Lee ; Luis Faundez ; Kamyar Nasseh 等
期刊名称：Preventing Chronic Disease
印刷版ISSN：1545-1151
出版年度：2020
卷号：17
页码：1
DOI：10.5888/pcd17.200003
出版社：Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
摘要：INTRODUCTION :Tertiary oral health services (caries-related surgery, sedation, and emergency department visits) represent high-cost and ineffective ways to improve a child's oral health. We measured the impact of increased Texas Medicaid reimbursements for preventive dental care on use of tertiary oral health services. METHODS :We used difference-in-differences models to compare the effect of a policy change among children (≤9 y) enrolled in Medicaid in Texas and Florida. Linear regression models estimated 4 outcomes: preventive care dental visit, dental sedation, emergency department use, and surgical event. RESULTS :Increased preventive care visits led to increased sedation visits (1.7 percentage points, P < .001) and decreased emergency department visits (0.3 percentage points, P < .001) for children aged 9 years or younger. We saw no significant change in dental surgical rates associated with increased preventive dental care reimbursements. CONCLUSION :Increased access to preventive dentistry was not associated with improved long-term oral health of Medicaid-enrolled children. Policies that aim to improve the oral health of children may increase the effectiveness of preventive dentistry by also targeting other social determinants of oral health.