Racial and ethnic disparities in dental care for publicly insured children.
Poor oral health has important implications for the healthy development of children. Children in Medicaid, especially Latinos and African Americans, experience high rates of tooth decay, yet they visit dentists less often than privately insured children. Even Latino and African American children with private insurance are less likely than white children to visit dentists and have longer intervals between dental visits. Furthermore, Latino and African American children in Medicaid are more likely than white children in Medicaid to have longer intervals between visits. These findings raise concerns about Medicaid's ability to address disparities in dental care access and, more broadly, in health care.
Pourat
Nadereh
N
Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. pourat@ucla.edu
Finocchio
Len
L
D001741:Black or African American; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D008484:Medicaid; D014481:United States