Impact of receipt of regular dental care with hospital admission and emergency department utilization for persons with Coronary Artery Disease

Objective: Regular dental care may reduce hospital admission and emergency department (ED) utilization for persons with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the area has not been studied extensively. We examined the effect of regular use of dental care with cardiovascular-specific ED utilization and hospital admissions among adults with CAD.

Study Design: Using a retrospective, cohort design, we identified 262 persons with diabetes that received regular dental care compared to 262 persons that did not. The two patient groups were matched on age and gender, followed for 3 years and retained medical and dental benefits during the observation period. Both groups also received >= 1 outpatient medical visits during each 12 month period. Receipt of regular dental care was defined as >=2 dental hygiene visits in each 12 month period. Non-receipt of dental care included no dental visits of any kind. CV-specific hospital admissions (>= 1 admissions vs. none) and CV-specific ED visits (>= 1 visits vs. none) were assessed by electronic medical record during year 3. Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of receipt of dental care with study outcome measures; adjusting for prior utilization (ED and hospital admissions) and RxRisk (severity of illness measure constructed from pharmacy dispensings).

Results: Receipt of regular dental care was strongly associated with lower CV-specific hospital admissions (OR=0.36, 95% CI=0.19-0.70) and lower CV-specific ED visits (OR=0.20, 95% CI=0.08-0.46).

Conclusions: Regular receipt of dental care was associated with reduced CV-specific hospital admissions and ED visits among persons with CAD.