The Impact of Dental Insurance and Medical Insurance on Dental Care Utilization During Pregnancy

• Published in: Maternal and child health journal Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 832 - 840
• Main Authors: Robison, Valerie, Bauman, Brenda, D’Angelo, Denise V., Espinoza, Lorena, Thornton-Evans, Gina, Lin, Mei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavior; Children & youth; Childrens health; Chronic illnesses; Cleaning; Dental Care; Dental caries; Dental insurance; Disease control; Disease prevention; Female; Government programs; Gynecology; Health aspects; Health insurance; Health promotion; Humans; Infant; Influence; Insurance; Insurance coverage; Insurance, Dental; Insurance, Health; Maternal & child health; Maternal and Child Health; Medicaid; Medical care; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Monitoring systems; Oral diseases; Oral Health; Oral hygiene; Pediatrics; Population Economics; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Public Health; Risk Assessment; Sociology; United States; Utilization; Womens health; United States; Pregnancy; Dental insurance; Medicaid; Dental care
• ISSN: 1092-7875; 1573-6628
• DOI: 10.1007/s10995-020-03094-z

Objective To measure the association between dental and medical insurance with the receipt of dental cleaning during pregnancy. Methods We analyzed Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from 2012 to 2015 on 145,051 women with a recent live birth from 36 states. We used adjusted prevalence ratios [aPR] from multivariable regression to examine the association of dental and medical insurance with receipt of dental cleaning during pregnancy, controlling for selected covariates that influence dental care utilization. Results Seventy-seven percent (77%) of all women reported having dental insurance during pregnancy. Receipt of dental cleaning before pregnancy was strongly associated with dental cleaning during pregnancy. Among women without pre-pregnancy dental cleaning who had dental insurance, those with Medicaid medical insurance had a significantly higher prevalence of dental cleaning during pregnancy [aPR = 1.42, 95% CI (1.32 − 1.52)], compared to those private medical insurance. Among women without pre-pregnancy dental cleaning, those without dental insurance but with Medicaid medical insurance were about 70% less likely to have dental cleaning during pregnancy compared to those with dental and private medical insurance. Conclusions for Practice With or without dental insurance, pre-pregnancy dental cleaning was strongly associated with dental cleaning during pregnancy. Dental insurance was an important determinant of dental utilization. Medical insurance had an independent and positive effect. This effect varied by private versus Medicaid medical insurance. Programs which provide women with dental insurance both before and during pregnancy could improve the oral health of maternal and infant populations.