Examining the Costs Associated With Dental Restorative Services in the Absence of Preventive Services Among Pediatric Medicaid Beneficiaries by Rurality

This project will examine the costs associated with pediatric dental restorative services in the absence of preventive services. This study focuses on children with Medicaid who have historically been less likely to receive preventive dental care with subsequent impacts on pain, infections, and overall development.

In the United States, dental caries is the most prevalent chronic disease of childhood. Using nationwide Medicaid claims data, the proposed work has three aims:

1. Examine rural-urban differences in the associated costs of restorative dental services among all Medicaid-insured children
2. Identify and compare rural-urban differences in preventable restorative dental services – where restorative services occurred among children who did not receive adequate preventive dental services
3. Quantify rural-urban differences in the costs associated with preventable restorative dental services to examine potential cost-savings with improved access to preventive dental services.