This brief reports rural vs. urban patterns of preventive services, restorative or surgical dental services, and incidence rates of dental caries in 2021 and 2022 among Medicaid-enrolled children ages 2 to 5.
Key Findings:
- The majority of rural children did not receive two dental cleanings per year as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (2021: 85.9%, 2022: 78.8%). Most suburban (2021: 86.4%, 2022: 79.0%) and urban children (2021: 86.8%, 2022: 79.6%) did not receive two dental cleanings per year.
- Rural children had more restorative dental services (i.e., fillings and crowns) per year (2021: 12.6%, 2022: 19.5%) than suburban (2021: 10.9%, 2022: 17.3%) and urban (2021: 10.4%, 2022: 16.6%) children.
- Rural children had the highest incidence of caries (i.e., tooth decay) diagnosed per year (2021: 4.4%, 2022: 5.2%) when compared to suburban (2021: 4.1%, 2022: 4.9%) and urban (2021: 3.6%, 2022: 3.4%) children.
Contact Information:
Cassie Odahowski, PhD, MPH
University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Phone: 803.251.6317
clo@mailbox.sc.edu