Table 4. Among Children With Early Preventive Dental Care, Comparison of Caries-Related Visits and Expenditures for Propensity Score Matched Children Receiving 4 or More Preventive Dental Visits Before Age 2 Years vs Children With Between 1 and 3 Visits.
| Outcome | Expected Value of the Outcome | β (95% CI) | Effect of High Frequency Preventive Dental Care | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logita | GLM | Marginal Effectb (95% CI) | P Value | ||
| ≥4 Preventive dental visits from dentists before age 2 y vs 1-3 visits (n=2848 child-years among 1051 matched child pairs) | |||||
| Annual caries-related visits | 0.30 | 0.21 (0.02-0.40) | 0.06 (−0.04 to 0.15) | 0.07 (0.01-0.12) | .01 |
| Annual caries-related expenditures | 92.27 | 0.21 (0.02-0.40) | 0.02 (−0.15 to 0.19) | 17.57 (−3.34 to 38.47) | .10 |
| ≥4 Preventive dental visits from PCPs before age 2 y vs 1-3 visits (n=424 child-years among 180 matched child pairs) | |||||
| Annual caries-related visits | 0.17 | 0.31 (−0.65 to 0.57) | −0.08 (−0.34 to 0.19) | −0.02 (−0.12 to 0.08) | .71 |
| Annual caries-related expenditures | 41.05 | 0.01 (−0.62 to 0.62) | −0.02 (−0.42 to 0.39) | −0.69 (−28.59 to 27.21) | .96 |
Abbreviations: GLM, generalized linear model; PCP, primary care provider.
Results include estimates from care delivered by dentists and primary care providers.
a
Robust standard errors are used to account for matched pairs.
b
Combined marginal effect, otherwise known as the absolute difference.