By Sophia Duong

Dental cavities are the most common chronic disease for children, in large part due to children’s lack of dental care. However, recent data shows that more kids are ‘saying ahhh’ at the dentist these days. In a previous blog post, Tricia Brooks discussed the increased state reporting on the CHIPRA health quality measures, including preventive dental services and dental treatment services. In FFY 2012, CMS began calculating these measures for all 51 states. Eliot Fishman, Director of CMS Children and Adults Health Program Group, brought these data to our attention at CCF’s recent annual conference.

(Graph from CMS report, Increased Use of Dental Services by Children Covered by Medicaid: 2000-2010)

 Preventive Dental Services

• Since 2000, kids have been receiving more preventive dental care, increasing from 23.2% in 2000 up to 40.8% in 2010. As of FFY 2012, the median percentage of children receiving preventive dental care was 44%.

• While the data show a steady improvement across the nation in access to preventive dental care, large geographic variation exists among states, ranging from 14% to 58%.  Much work remains nationwide and on a state-by-state basis to continue this progress. It is necessary to dig into each state’s dental data in order to truly address children’s oral health needs.

(Map from 2013 Annual Report on the Quality of Care for Children in Medicaid and CHIP)

Dental Treatment

• The percentage of children receiving dental treatment services increased from 15.3% in 2000 to 23.0% in 2010. As with the pattern of preventive dental care, there is also geographic variation among states in dental treatment services, ranging from 8% to 51%.

The improved access and state reporting on dental measures is an encouraging sign and has been boosted by a concerted effort by CMS to address oral health gaps for kids, through its 2010 Oral Health Initiative, which set CMS set state-specific baselines and FFY 2015 goals, including that 52% of all EPSDT-eligible children receive preventive dental care by 2015. CMS has also encouraged state Medicaid agencies to develop their own Oral Health Action Plan in order to identify action steps to address children’s oral health needs—16 states developed a plan as of April 2013. CMS provides technical assistance to states, and recently released a toolkit to assist states in improving oral health care delivery in Medicaid and CHIP.