Medicaid dental service use among children
Dental service use among Medicaid eligible children by:
Health programs offer dental visits to children enrolled in Medicaid and other Minnesota health care programs
Child and Teen Checkups (C&TC) is Minnesota’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program—a federal program required in every state to provide children enrolled in a Medicaid or public health insurance program with yearly well-child care health and dental visits.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend at least one dental visit each year, starting by the child’s first birthday, when the first tooth appears, or whichever occurs first. Dental visits are important to maintain healthy gums and teeth, prevent dental disease, and identify any treatment needs.
Children eligible for Minnesota’s C&TC services include all children under the age of 21 enrolled in a Medicaid or Children Health Insurance (CHIP) expansion program (Medical Assistance) or MinnesotaCare (collectively called Minnesota Health Care Programs).
The following is based on data from the CMS-416 Report, which records dental service use among children ages 1 to 20 years enrolled in Medicaid and other state health insurance programs. This data includes paid, unpaid, and denied fee-for-service claims and encounter data for at least one dental service among children enrolled in a Minnesota Health Care Program for at least 90 continuous days during the federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30).
A dental service is any diagnostic, preventive, or treatment service provided by or under the supervision of a dentist. For more information visit: About the CTC Program (CMS-416) report data.
During federal fiscal year 2015, 2 out of 5 Minnesota C&TC eligible children (41 percent) had at least one dental service.
2 out of every 5
C&TC eligible children (1 to 20 years) (41.1%)
Have at least one dental service
FFY 2015
Dental service use among C&TC eligible children by age, federal fiscal year 2015
| Age group (years) | Number of C&TC eligible children | Number of C&TC eligible children with at least one dental service | Percent C&TC eligible children with at least one dental service use within age groups (row percent) | 95% Confidence Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 68,009 | 8,335 | 12.3% | 12.0 to 12.5 |
| 3 to 5 | 91,808 | 38,296 | 41.7% | 41.4 to 42.0 |
| 6 to 9 | 121,817 | 62,502 | 51.3% | 51.0 to 51.6 |
| 10 to 14 | 128,779 | 63,500 | 49.3% | 49.0 to 49.6 |
| 15 to 18 | 89,130 | 37,231 | 41.8% | 41.4 to 42.1 |
| 19 to 20 | 39,170 | 11,328 | 28.9% | 28.5 to 29.4 |
Data include CTC eligible children enrolled in a Minnesota Health Care Program for at least 90-continuous days during the federal fiscal year (FFY) (October 1 through September 30). Total eligible children (1 to 20 years) enrolled during FFY 2015 = 538,713.
A dental service is any diagnostic, preventive, or treatment service provided by or under the supervision of a dentist. Data is based on all unduplicated counts of paid, unpaid, and denied claims submitted for reimbursement from fee-for-service providers, managed care plans, Indian Health Services, and Federally Qualified Health Centers that contract with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. This chart represents percent dental service use within age groups (row percentages). See About the Data: Child and Teen Checkups Program (CMS-416) Report for more information.
Among C&TC eligible children who received a dental service during federal fiscal year 2015, the majority were between the ages of 3 to 18 years. However, half to less than half of each age group received the recommended yearly dental visit. Most notable, are the very low dental service use rates among the 1 to 2 year old and 19 to 20 year old age groups.
Dental service use among C&TC eligible children by race and ethnicity, federal fiscal year 2015
| Race and ethnicity | Number of C&TC eligible children (1 to 20 years) | Number of C&TC eligible children (1 to 20 years) with at least one dental service | Percent C&TC eligible children (1 to 20 years) with at least one dental service (row percent) | 95% Confidence Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 233,773 | 93,465 | 40.0% | 39.8 to 40.2 |
| African American or Black | 99,735 | 41,042 | 41.2% | 40.8 to 41.5 |
| American Indian/ Alaska Native | 16,202 | 7,271 | 44.9% | 44.1 to 45.6 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 36,448 | 15,859 | 43.5% | 43.0 to 44.0 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 60,420 | 28,918 | 47.9% | 47.5 to 48.3 |
| Mixed Race | 25,838 | 10,203 | 39.5% | 35.5 to 37.2 |
Data include Child and Teen Checkup eligible children enrolled in a Minnesota Health Care Program for at least 90-continuous days during the federal fiscal year (FFY) (October 1 through September 30). Total eligible children (1 to 20 years) enrolled during FFY 2015 with a known single race and ethnicity or mixed race = 472,416 Unknown or missing race and ethnicity (not shown in this chart) = 24,434 with at least one dental service out of 66,297 eligible.
A dental service is any diagnostic, preventive, or treatment service provided by or under the supervision of a dentist. Data is based on all unduplicated counts of paid, unpaid, and denied claims submitted for reimbursement from fee-for-service providers, managed care plans, Indian Health Services, and Federally Qualified Health Centers that contract with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. This chart represents percent dental service use across race and ethnicity groups (row percentages). See About the Data: Child and Teen Checkups Program (CMS-416) Report for more information.
Regardless of race and ethnicity, dental service use among C&TC eligible children remained low in federal fiscal year 2015.
C&TC eligible children (1 to 20 years) dental service use, federal fiscal year 2015
Child and Teen Checkup eligible children include all children enrolled in a Minnesota Health Care Program (Medical Assistance or Medicaid, MNCare) for at least 90-continuous days during the federal fiscal year (FFY) (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30). Total eligible children (1 to 20 years) enrolled during FFY 2015 = 538,713. A dental service is any diagnostic, preventive, or treatment service provided by or under the supervision of a dentist. Data is based on all unduplicated counts of paid, unpaid, and denied claims submitted for reimbursement from fee-for-service providers, managed care plans, Indian Health Services, and Federally Qualified Health Centers that contract with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. See About the Data: Child and Teen Checkups Program (CMS-416) Report for more information.
Cook County C&TC eligible children (56 percent) had the highest dental service use and Rock County C&TC eligible children (19 percent) had the lowest dental service use of all counties.
Disclaimer