Abstract
Objective
To examine general dental and orthodontic utilization and expenditures by health insurance
status, public health insurance eligibility, and sociodemographic characteristics
among children aged 0 to 17 years using data from 2010–2012.
Methods
Nationally representative data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2010–2012)
provided data on insurance status, public health insurance eligibility, and visits
to dental providers for both general dental care and orthodontic care.
Results
Overall, 41.9% of US children reported an annual dental office–based visit for general
(nonorthodontic) dental care. Fewer Hispanic (34.7%) and non-Latino black children
(34.8%) received dental care compared to non-Hispanic whites (47.3%) and Asians (40.3%).
Children living in families with the lowest income were also the least likely to have
a visit (32.9%) compared to children in the highest-income families (54.7%). Among
children eligible for public coverage, Medicaid-eligible children had the lowest percentage
of preventive dental visits (29.2%). Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in
use and expenditures for orthodontic care are much greater than those for general
and preventive dental care. Average expenditures for orthodontic care were $1,823,
of which 56% ($1,023) was paid out of pocket by families.
Conclusions
Our findings provide a baseline assessment for examining trends in the future, especially
as coverage patterns for children may change as the Affordable Care Act is implemented
and the future of the State Child Health Insurance Program remains uncertain beyond 2017.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
February 18,
2016
Received:
August 31,
2015
Footnotes
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the US Department of Health and Human Services. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
