Dental care after an emergency department visit for dental problems among adults enrolled in Medicaid.

Background: Dental emergency department (ED) visits are increasing nationally, but EDs provide only palliative care. The authors examine time to subsequent dentist visit within 6 months after the ED visit, as well as the effect of having a dentist visit in the prior year.
Methods: Using 2010-2012 Iowa Medicaid claims data, the authors identified adults with an index dental ED visit. The authors examined the claims data for a subsequent dentist visit within the next 6 months. The authors used Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests for bivariate analyses. The authors included a dentist visit in the year before the index ED visit, subsequent ED visits, and sociodemographic characteristics in a Cox multivariable regression model.
Results: A total of 2,430 adults enrolled in Medicaid satisfied the study inclusion criteria. Within 6 months, 52.4% had a subsequent dentist visit, 12.0% lost Medicaid eligibility, and 35.6% did not have subsequent dentist visit. Bivariate and multivariable analyses revealed that nonwhites, those without a dentist visit in the prior year, and those with subsequent ED visits had a significantly lower rate of subsequent dentist visits.
Conclusions: Almost one-half of adults with a dental ED visit did not visit a dentist in the next 6 months. Adults who did not visit a dentist in the past year and those with repeated ED visits may be living with unresolved dental problems that can affect their quality of life.
Practical Implications: Adults without a dentist visit in the past year and those who visit ED repeatedly can be targeted by ED diversion programs because they are at higher risk of not receiving follow-up dental care.
(Copyright © 2016 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)