Table 3. Results From 2-Part Models Estimating Health Service Utilization and Expenditures for Propensity-Score Matched Children Receiving Early Preventive Dental Care From Dentists and Primary Care Providers.
| Outcome | Expected Value of the Outcome | β (95% CI) | Effect of Early Preventive Dental Care | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logita | GLM | Marginal Effectb (95% CI) | P Value | ||
| Preventive dental visits from dentists before age 2 y (n = 9732 child-years among 3658 matched child pairs) | |||||
| Annual caries-related visits | 0.22 | 0.71 (0.60-0.83) | 0.04 (−0.02 to 0.10) | 0.14 (0.11-0.16) | <.001 |
| Annual caries-related expenditures | 70.50 | 0.72 (0.60-0.84) | −0.01 (−0.13 to 0.12) | 40.77 (30.48-51.07) | <.001 |
| Annual dental expenditures | 127.43 | 1.68 (1.59-1.78) | 0.03 (−0.06 to 0.13) | 84.96 (72.76-97.17) | <.001 |
| Preventive dental visits from dentists before age 2 y (n = 2174 child-years among 846 matched child pairs) | |||||
| Annual caries-related visits | 0.15 | 0.06 (−0.24 to 0.36) | 0.08 (−0.06 to 0.22) | 0.02 (−0.03 to 0.06) | .40 |
| Annual caries-related expenditures | 42.98 | 0.06 (−0.23 to 0.37) | 0.23 (−0.03 to 0.49) | 12.36 (−3.86 to 28.58) | .14 |
| Annual dental expenditures | 79.58 | 0.19 (−0.01 to 0.38) | 0.11 (−0.09 to 0.31) | 17.41 (−1.22 to 36.05) | .07 |
Abbreviation: GLM, generalized linear model.
a
Robust standard errors are used to account for matched pairs.
b
Combined marginal effect, otherwise known as the absolute difference.