Emergency Department Visits for Dental Conditions
To our knowledge, our studies are the first to evaluate ED visits and hospitalization patterns for dental conditions using a nationwide sample for the United States. The resulting large samples allowed us to identify patterns that may not have been evident in previous, smaller studies.
Our studies highlight the extensive hospital charges incurred by individuals who present to hospitals with dental conditions. We also showed that uninsured patients form a large proportion of hospital visits for every dental condition analyzed. We believe that oral health prevention programs that target uninsured groups could substantially reduce the burden of hospital use for dental conditions. This will allow highly trained hospital teams to focus on life-threatening medical conditions.
Existing dental research has shown the importance of prevention and that preventive dentistry can be more cost-effective than emergency care. Insurance companies are willing to cover biannual dental examinations and cleanings because they realize that such care is cost-effective.
We believe that federal and state governments must work together to facilitate preventive care to the uninsured in the United States. Models exist outside the United States that enable uninsured individuals to seek care in dental offices, rather than burdening the hospital system. Several European nations, Australia, and New Zealand have public health systems and programs that use mid-level providers, such as dental therapists, to facilitate dental care for low-income individuals.
Policymakers, public health program coordinators, and legislators in the United States need to work together to address the issue of access to care for low-income groups. Ignoring this problem leads to a considerable waste of hospital resources and has an exponential effect on the community through lost days of work or school.
Implications and Potential Solutions
To our knowledge, our studies are the first to evaluate ED visits and hospitalization patterns for dental conditions using a nationwide sample for the United States. The resulting large samples allowed us to identify patterns that may not have been evident in previous, smaller studies.
Our studies highlight the extensive hospital charges incurred by individuals who present to hospitals with dental conditions. We also showed that uninsured patients form a large proportion of hospital visits for every dental condition analyzed. We believe that oral health prevention programs that target uninsured groups could substantially reduce the burden of hospital use for dental conditions. This will allow highly trained hospital teams to focus on life-threatening medical conditions.
Existing dental research has shown the importance of prevention and that preventive dentistry can be more cost-effective than emergency care. Insurance companies are willing to cover biannual dental examinations and cleanings because they realize that such care is cost-effective.
We believe that federal and state governments must work together to facilitate preventive care to the uninsured in the United States. Models exist outside the United States that enable uninsured individuals to seek care in dental offices, rather than burdening the hospital system. Several European nations, Australia, and New Zealand have public health systems and programs that use mid-level providers, such as dental therapists, to facilitate dental care for low-income individuals.
Policymakers, public health program coordinators, and legislators in the United States need to work together to address the issue of access to care for low-income groups. Ignoring this problem leads to a considerable waste of hospital resources and has an exponential effect on the community through lost days of work or school.
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