Table 2. Comparison of Dental Health Services Utilization and Expenditures Among Children Not Receiving Early Preventive Dental Care and Those Receiving it, Stratified by Whether Delivered by Dentist or Primary Care Providera .
| Outcome | Dentist-Delivered Care, Child-Yearsb | Primary Care Provider-Delivered Care, Child-Yearsb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Preventive Care (n=4866) |
Received Preventive Care (n=4866) |
P Value | No Preventive Care (n=1087) |
Received Preventive Care (n=1087) |
P Value | |
| Any caries-related treatment visit, % | 11.3 | 20.6 | <.001 | 10.1 | 10.7 | .67 |
| Mean caries-related visits per member per year (SD), $ | 0.15 (0.50) | 0.29 (0.68) | <.001 | 0.14 (0.47) | 0.16 (0.54) | .37 |
| Mean annual caries-related expenditures (SD), $ | 50 (222) | 91 (281) | <.001 | 37 (156) | 49 (212) | .12 |
| Any annual dental visit, % | 42.8 | 80.1 | <.001 | 39.0 | 43.6 | .03 |
| Mean annual dental expenditures (SD), $ | 87 (249) | 168 (306) | <.001 | 71 (181) | 88 (241) | .06 |
| Received fluoride varnish during the first 2 years of life,c % | NA | 84.3 | NA | NA | 88.5 | NA |
| Mean No. of fluoride varnishes receivedc (SD) | NA | 1.1 (0.7) | NA | NA | 1.3 (0.9) | NA |
Abbreviation: NA, not applicable.
a
Expenditures adjusted to 2012 dollars.
b
Sample size given as children-years of follow-up.
c
Sample size for dentist-delivered varnishes was n = 3658 children (3085 received); sample size for primary care provider–delivered varnishes was n = 846 children (749 received).