Factors associated with receiving treatment for dental decay among Medicaid‐enrolled children younger than 12 years of age in Iowa, 2010

Abstract

Objectives The Iowa Department of Public Health I-Smile program provides dental screening and care coordination to over 23,000 low-income and Medicaid-enrolled children per year. The purposes of this study were to evaluate I-Smile program effectiveness to ensure that Medicaid-enrolled children obtained dental treatment after having been screened and to determine the factors associated with failure to receive dental care after screening through the I-Smile program. Methods Based on I-Smile program priorities, we limited our sample to children younger than 12 years of age who screened positive for decay and who linked to a paid Medicaid claim for dental treatment (n = 1,816). We conducted bivariate analyses to examine associations between children’s characteristics who screened positive for decay and received treatment within 6 months of their initial screening. We also performed multivariate logistic regression to assess the association of sociodemographic characteristics with receipt of treatment among children who screened positive for decay. Results Eleven percent of children screened positive for decay. Nearly 24 percent of children with decay received treatment based on a Medicaid-paid claim. Being 5 years or older [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.48, confidence interval (CI): 1.17, 1.88] and not having a dental home (aOR: 1.90, CI: 1.41, 2.58) were associated with higher odds of not receiving dental treatment. Conclusions Children 5 years and older and without a dental home were less likely to obtain dental treatment. Opportunities exist for the I-Smile program to increase the numbers of at-risk children with dental homes and who obtain dental care after screening.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Preventive Oral Health Care During Wave One

“…Both well-child visits and early dental visits provide an opportunity to improve parental oral health knowledge and practices for their children (14). Additionally, these early visits offer chances to coordinate care and referral to dentists for high risk children with extensive and severe disease (15,16). Wellchild visits play an important role in the oral health care system, especially when access to a dentist is severely limited (17).…”

Dental Homes for Children With Autism

“…The overall dental home rate of 8% was lower than previously reported rates of 12.6% (claims-based) and 69.3% (survey-based). 34,35 One reason for lower overall dental homes rates for children in the present study is strict inclusion criteria, which included new Medicaid enrollees who were in Medicaid for ≥11 months of the year. There are two possible explanations of why Medicaid-enrolled children with ASD were not less likely to have dental homes.…”

“…34 The second study, based on Child and Adolescent Reporting System data, reported that among Medicaid-enrolled children with tooth decay, 69.3% had a dental home (a place that maintains the child’s dental record and had been utilized in the previous 12 months). 35 Both dental home definitions are narrow and indicate limitations associated with measuring the dental home concept using secondary data or short survey questions.…”