title: Dental procedures among children age birth to 20, United States, 1999 and 2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe dental procedures received by US children and adolescents by poverty status and dental insurance coverage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data for this analysis came from the 1999 and 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys. The primary outcome variable represented the types of dental procedures that were received during dental visits in the preceding year. Descriptive variables included dental insurance and poverty status. Analysis was restricted to children from birth to 20 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, diagnostic (41.2 percent) and preventive (35.8 percent) procedures accounted for most of the procedures received by children from birth to 20 years of age, while restorative procedures accounted for just 5 percent. Children from low-income families received a higher proportion of restorative procedures than children in higher-income families. The proportion of diagnostic and preventive services was lower among uninsured children than among publicly insured children. Orthodontic services, on the other hand, represented a greater percentage of these procedures among uninsured children than among publicly insured children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The vast majority of procedures received by children from birth to 20 years were diagnostic and preventive. Most children with at least one dental visit received a diagnostic or preventive service. Between 1999 and 2009, the proportion of all services received accounted for by diagnostic or preventive services increased. However, the proportion in which each type of procedure was received by children who made at least one visit who received did not change.
authors: Dental Public Health, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: Richard J
authors: RJ
authors: Manski
authors: Clemencia M
authors: CM
authors: Vargas
authors: Erwin
authors: E
authors: Brown
authors: Kelly V
authors: KV
authors: Carper
authors: Mark D
authors: MD
authors: Macek
authors: Leonard A
authors: LA
authors: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007347:Insurance, Dental; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MEPS; United States; children; dental care; dental insurance; dental procedures; health care surveys; poverty