Nearly 70% of dentists do not treat children with Medicaid benefits, according to a new whitepaper from Atlanta-based DSO Benevis.
The whitepaper, “Poverty Shapes Oral Health,” highlights how socioeconomic status is linked to oral healthcare access and influences other health outcomes throughout life.
Here are eight additional findings from the report:
1. About 1 in 3 preschoolers living in poverty experience early childhood caries.
2. Children between the ages of 2 and 5 who live in poverty have more decayed or filled primary teeth than children from higher-income families.
3. Sixty-five percent of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 who are living in poverty have dental caries.
4. The report also found that having a greater number of dental caries during childhood and adolescence leads to the development of additional caries as adults.
5. Older, lower-income adults experience triple the amount of untreated tooth decay compared to older, higher-income adults.
6. Thirty-eight percent of children ages 0 to 18 have Medicaid or CHIP dental benefits.
7. Children with public insurance often receive less dental treatment than children with private insurance, which is often attributed to the lower reimbursement rates that lead to a smaller network of Medicaid dentists in various states.
