Does preventive dental care reduce nonpreventive dental visits and expenditures among Medicaid-enrolled adults?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine whether preventive dental visits are associated with fewer subsequent nonpreventive dental visits and lower dental expenditures.

Data sources

Indiana Medicaid enrollment and claims data (2015-2018) and the Area Health Resource File.

Study design

A repeated measures design with individual and year fixed effects examining the relationship between preventive dental visits (PDVs) and nonpreventive dental visits (NPVs) and dental expenditures.

Data collection/extraction methods

Not applicable.

Principal findings

Of 28,152 adults (108,349 observation-years) meeting inclusion criteria, 36.0% had a dental visit, 27.8% a PDV, and 22.1% a NPV. Compared to no PDV in the prior year, at least one was associated with fewer NPVs (β = -0.13; 95% C

SUBMITTER: Taylor HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9643079 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature