Oral Health Knowledge, Barriers to Dental Care, and Awareness of a Medicaid Pregnancy Dental Coverage Among Reproductive-Age Women

Comprehensive pregnancy dental benefits improved dental coverage and increased dental care utilization among Medicaid-enrolled pregnant women in Virginia

“…Even though all Medicaid enrolled women had dental coverage in the post-period, even in the fourth year after the inception of the dental benefit, 25.6% of these women reported that they did not have coverage showing the extent of limited awareness among this population. These results concur with the recent study that found that 34% of reproductive-age women enrolled in Medicaid were unaware of available dental benefits in the Virginia Medicaid program after three years ( 13 ).…”

“…A study using the Virginia Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from 2012 to 2014 found that women with dental insurance had 3.5 times higher odds of a dental visit than women who did not have dental insurance ( 12 ). A recent study found low levels of oral health knowledge and limited awareness of available dental benefits among reproductive-age women enrolled in Medicaid ( 13 ).…”

Research and Professional Literature to Inform Practice, November/December 2022

“…A study conducted in a Virginia academic health center also observed lower dental care utilization among women enrolled in Medicaid. Naavaal et al administered waiting room surveys to assess patients’ insurance status, dental care utilization, primary source of health information, pregnancy‐related oral health knowledge, barriers to accessing health care, and awareness of a Medicaid dental benefit 5 . When compared by insurance type, 90% of women with private insurance had a routine dental visit in the past 2 years compared with 77% of women enrolled in Medicaid ( P = .026).…”

“…The other questions were “Do you think oral health is linked with general health?” and “During pregnancy, is it safe to get routine dental care such as checkups and cleanings?” A lower proportion of women enrolled in Medicaid answered each question correctly, so their knowledge scores were lower than those of privately insured women (2.9 vs 3.6, P < .001). Less knowledge may contribute to Medicaid enrollees facing greater barriers to care 5 . A third of women enrolled in Medicaid cited concerns about the safety of dental care during pregnancy as a barrier to access.…”

“…6 Educating Medicaid enrollees in health clinics about the importance and safety of dental care during pregnancy, as well as increasing awareness of a Medicaid dental benefit, may reduce the disparity in oral health knowledge. 5 After controlling for marital status, education level, insurance type, and previous live birth, lack of dental coverage resulted in wider disparities between Black and white women. 7 Future research and interventions to address dental care utilization among Medicaid enrollees should also consider the disparities in the dental care experiences and oral health perceptions of Black women.…”