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Abstract #149381
Andrew W. Pope, DrPH, Health, Promotion, Education and Behavior, University of South Carolina, 6312 Pinefield Road, Columbia, SC 29206, 803-787-8071, Andy_Pope24@yahoo.com, Kathryn Luchok, PhD, The Southern Institute on Children and Families, 500 Taylor Street, Suite 202, Columbia, SC 29201, and Amy Brock-Martin, DrPH, Health Services Policy and Management/Rural Health Research Center, University of South Carolina, 220 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 204, Columbia, SC 29210.
Asthma and dental caries are the two most common infectious chronic diseases affecting children in the U.S. (Marx and Pretorius, 2004). Evidence shows that children with asthma are at an increased risk of early childhood caries, and this risk can be mitigated by early and regular preventive dental care.
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine if there was a gap in dental services for South Carolina Medicaid children with asthma. Nine years of secondary data from the Medicaid Management Information System was used to better clarify the prevention-seeking dental behaviors of Medicaid-continuously enrolled children born in 1998, 1999, and 2000 who had been diagnosed with asthma prior to their second birthday (with diagnosis confirmed after age two) and followed for their first five years of life.
The study cohort (n=1,038) was 61% male, 57% black, 25% white; 89% of the cohort had at least one preventive dental visit. Overall, there was an average of 3.6 visits per child (3,408 visits total). There were fewer than five children who met the ADA standard of preventive visits twice a year. There were no factors that related significantly to having a preventive dental visit or using the emergency room for dental services.
It is critical for the public health community to realize the importance of prevention guidelines for dental health of all children; in the case of children with asthma, pediatricians and dentists must work hand-in-hand to make sure these children obtain regular preventive visits.
Learning Objectives:
- a) have any preventive dental visits b) are compliant with an American Dental Association preventive dental schedule.
2.Identify the factors related to preventive dental care use for children (0-5 yrs.) diagnosed with asthma enrolled in Medicaid in South Carolina.
- Identify the factors for children diagnosed with asthma enrolled in Medicaid in South Carolina that are associated with emergency room use for dental-related services.
Keywords: Early Childhood Caries, Asthma
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.
The 135th APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 3-7, 2007) of APHA