Half of U.S. Kids Skip Annual Dental Exam
October 30, 2007

By Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

INTELIHEALTH -- Dentists recommend a checkup every six months. But many kids, particularly poor ones, aren't seeing the dentist even once a year.

A study has found that about half of children ages 2 to 17 do not get annual dental checkups.

The study was called the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. It showed that 38% of low-income children (ages 2 to 17) had a dental checkup in 2003. Among higher-income children, 60% had a checkup that year. The study included 8,983 U.S. children.

Even accounting for income differences, certain groups of children were less likely to get a dental checkup:

• Younger children (ages 2 to 5)
• Hispanics
• Children whose parents had not finished high school
• Children with no private or public health insurance

Among middle- and high-income children, those with other health problems were less likely to visit the dentist.

Researchers found that other health care professionals, such as doctors and nurses, are just as likely to recommend a dental visit to lower-income families as to higher-income families. But fewer poor children actually make it to the dentist.

Part of the reason may be insurance coverage. Only 24% of poor children in the study had private dental insurance. But 68% of higher-income children had it.

But insurance isn't the only factor. Among kids with private insurance, only 44% of low-income children had a dental checkup, compared with 65% of higher-income children.

Half of middle- and high-income children with no insurance still had a checkup in 2003. Only 21% of uninsured low-income kids had one.

Certain groups of middle- and high-income children were most likely to get checkups:

• Ages 6 to 12 (69%)
• Whites (65%)
• Those with parents who had at least some college (66%)

The highest rates among low-income children were in the same categories. However, the percentages were much lower:

• Ages 6 to 12 (43%)
• Whites (44%)
• Those with parents who had at least some college (40%)

The researchers say that it's still important to find ways to allow all children to get care, regardless of income or insurance coverage.

Data from a different study, found that 72% of children had a dental checkup in 2003. That information came from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). It included 102,353 children from birth to age 17.

Like the more recent research, the NSCH study found that poor children and younger children were less likely to visit the dentist. It also found that children who did not have a regular doctor were less likely to visit a dentist. That study was published in the March 2007 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The current study appears in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.