title: Analysis of InsureKidsNow.gov dental providers in New York State.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Study purposes were to: (1) validate information of New York State (NYS) pediatric dental Medicaid/CHIP providers registered on InsureKidsNow.gov (IKN); and (2) compare dental access to available IKN pediatric dental Medicaid provider locations by NYS region and population density of young children in poverty Methods: Information on 4,634 dental provider locations was obtained by collapsing 21,921 listings; 160 locations were randomly telephoned to verify consistency and provision of pediatric restorative treatment. Dental provider locations to poor child population ratios were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 90 percent of locations were in less than a third of NYS counties. New York City/Long Island locations had 5.68 higher odds of accepting new pediatric patients compared to locations in the rest of NYS. Of phone numbers called, 22 percent were invalid. Nearly 40 percent of valid calls were inconsistent with IKN. Over 90 percent of counties had at least one IKN dentist. The median child-in-poverty to provider ratio was 85:1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Improved oversight of InsureKidsNow.gov is required to ensure validity and usefulness. Research on the quantity and type of child Medicaid/CHIP dental procedures in private practice is needed to accurately assess dental access.
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Health, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. chc26@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Courtney H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chinn
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossy
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Best
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009518:New York; D014481:United States