Program Operations Coordinator Texas Department of State Health Services, Oral Health Improvement Program
Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Brittany Akl, RDH, MSHS: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Danielle Brown, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Rhonda Stokley, DDS: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Abstract: Objectives The Oral Health Improvement Program (OHIP) strives to provide quality oral health data on a variety of populations. To find this data, OHIP continually analyzes new data sets from multiple local and national surveys. The purpose of this survey is to assess the oral health of Texas children. State level data is analyzed from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Methods NSCH is a weighted national survey with questions on many aspects of a child’s life including oral health. This data is used to determine oral health trends and needs. NSCH is also OHIP’s only source of data for children with special healthcare needs. Data were analyzed from the NSCH for combined years 2016 to 2019 using SAS (v. 9.4) to account for the sampling design. Comparisons were made between state and national level results. Some estimates need to be interpreted with caution because the estimate has a 95% confidence interval width exceeding 20 percentage points or 1.2 times the estimate and may not be reliable. These unstable estimates are notated in the results section. Results Children with adequate and consistent healthcare insurance were more likely to visit the dentist, have no cavities, and have excellent or very good teeth compared to those without insurance coverage. Children from low income families, with special healthcare needs and those of Hispanic or multiracial decent were more likely to have cavities. Conclusions Notable disparities are found between Texas children based on income, race, and insurance coverage.
Source of Funding: Analysis funded by Title V grant.
