biostudies-literatureUnknown57(1)Choi SE<h4>Objective</h4>To examine whether quality of dental care varies by age and over time and whether community-level characteristics explain these patterns.<h4>Data source</h4>Deidentified medical and dental claims from a commercial insurer from January 2015 to December 2019.<h4>Study design</h4>A retrospective cohort study. The primary outcome was a composite quality score, derived from seven dental quality measures (DQMs), with higher values corresponding to better quality. Hierarchical regression models identified person- and zip code-level factors associated with the quality.<h4>Data collection/extraction methods</h4>Continuously enrolled US dental insurance beneficiaries younger than 21 years of age.<h4>Principal findings</h4>Quality was assessed for 4.88 million person-years covering 1.31 million persons. Overall quality slightly improved over time, mostly driven by substantial improvements among children aged 0-5 years by 0.153 points/year (95% confidence interval [CI]:0.151, 0.156). Quality was poorest and declined over time among adolescents with only 20.5% of DQMs met as compared to 42.6% among aged 0-5 years in 2019. Dental professional shortage, median household income, percentages of African Americans, unemployed, and less-educated populations at the zip code level were associated with the composite score.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Quality of dental care among adolescents remains low, and place of residence influenced the quality. Increasing the supply of dentists and oral health promotion strategies targeting adolescents and low-performing localities should be explored.Health services research137-144https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8763286biostudies-literatureMeasuring the quality of dental care among privately insured children in the United States.PMC8763286Kalenderian ENormand SLChoi SEfalseMeasuring the quality of dental care among privately insured children in the United States.<h4>Objective</h4>To examine whether quality of dental care varies by age and over time and whether community-level characteristics explain these patterns.<h4>Data source</h4>Deidentified medical and dental claims from a commercial insurer from January 2015 to December 2019.<h4>Study design</h4>A retrospective cohort study. The primary outcome was a composite quality score, derived from seven dental quality measures (DQMs), with higher values corresponding to better quality. Hierarchical regression models identified person- and zip code-level factors associated with the quality.<h4>Data collection/extraction methods</h4>Continuously enrolled US dental insurance beneficiaries younger than 21 years of age.<h4>Principal findings</h4>Quality was assessed for 4.88 million person-years covering 1.31 million persons. Overall quality slightly improved over time, mostly driven by substantial improvements among children aged 0-5 years by 0.153 points/year (95% confidence interval [CI]:0.151, 0.156). Quality was poorest and declined over time among adolescents with only 20.5% of DQMs met as compared to 42.6% among aged 0-5 years in 2019. Dental professional shortage, median household income, percentages of African Americans, unemployed, and less-educated populations at the zip code level were associated with the composite score.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Quality of dental care among adolescents remains low, and place of residence influenced the quality. Increasing the supply of dentists and oral health promotion strategies targeting adolescents and low-performing localities should be explored.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Feb2025-04-05T09:05:44.113Z2025-04-05T09:05:44.113ZS-EPMC87632863432770310.1111/1475-6773.13713