Effects of Physician-Based Preventive Oral Health Services on Dental Caries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Most Medicaid programs reimburse nondental providers for preventive dental services. We estimate the impact of comprehensive preventive oral health services (POHS) on dental caries among kindergarten students, hypothesizing improved oral health among students with medical visits with POHS.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study in 29,173 kindergarten students by linking Medicaid claims (1999-2006) with public health surveillance data (2005-2006). Zero-inflated regression models estimated the association between number of visits with POHS and (1) decayed, missing, and filled primary teeth (dmft) and (2) untreated decayed teeth while adjusting for confounding.

Results

Kindergarten students with ≥4 POHS visits averaged an adjusted 1.82 dmft (95% confidence

SUBMITTER: Kranz AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4485004 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature