Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

9 p.

Publication Date

2012

Publisher

BioMed Central

Source Publication

BMC Oral Health

Source ISSN

1472-6831

Original Item ID

doi: 10.1186/1472-6831-12-58; PubMed Central. PMCID: PMC3548684

Abstract

Background

Studies on rural–urban differences in dental care have primarily focused on differences in utilization rates and preventive dental services. Little is known about rural–urban differences in the use of wider range of dental procedures. This study examined patterns of preventive, restorative, endodontic, and extraction procedures provided to children enrolled in Delta Dental of Wisconsin (DDWI).

Methods

We analyzed DDWI enrollment and claims data for children aged 0-18 years from 2002 to 2008. We modified and used a rural and urban classification based on ZIP codes developed by the Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (AHEC). We categorized the ZIP codes into 6 AHEC categories (3 rural and 3 urban). Descriptive and multivariable analysis using generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to examine the patterns of dental procedures provided to children. Tukey-Kramer adjustment was used to control for multiple comparisons.

Results

Approximately, 50%, 67% and 68 % of enrollees in inner-city Milwaukee, Rural 1 (less than 2500 people), and suburban-Milwaukee had at least one annual dental visit, respectively. Children in inner city-Milwaukee had the lowest utilization rates for all procedures examined, except for endodontic procedures. Compared to children from inner-city Milwaukee, children in other locations had significantly more preventive procedures. Children in Rural 1-ZIP codes had more restorative, endodontic and extraction procedures, compared to children from all other regions.

Conclusions

We found significant geographic variation in dental procedures received by children enrolled in DDWI.

Comments

Published version. BMC Oral Health, Vol. 12, No. 58 (2012). DOI. © 2012 Bhagavatula et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Used with permission.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Included in

Dentistry Commons

Share

COinS