456 - Pediatric Emergency Department and Urgent Care Utilization for Non-traumatic Dental Conditions

Title: Emergency Department and Urgent Care Utilization for Non-traumatic Dental Conditions

Authors: Cawley M, Koukol C, Roberts H,

Purpose: Barriers to accessing preventive dental care can lead to negligence of dental health, causing severe pain, infection, or swelling. This study attempts to describe patient characteristics of those who sought non-traumatic dental care in urgent care or emergency department settings. Trends in utilization and assessment of patient demographics, with an emphasis on how zip code and insurance status affect utilization, will be described in hopes of identifying barriers to dental care within the local community.

Methods: A query of electronic health records from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center was performed with search parameters to include all patients ages 18 and under who had an emergency department or urgent care visit in the years 2016 through 2020 with a visit ICD-10 diagnosis code listed as a non-traumatic dental code. Demographic information including patient age, gender, race, ethnicity, zip code, and insurance status were collected for each patient visit.

Results: 752 encounters met search criteria. A chi-square analysis revealed a significant relationship between payor type and place of residence among those who accessed UNMC or CHMC emergency department or urgent care site for a non-traumatic dental reason. Specifically, patients with zip codes in NE and SE Douglas County were more likely to have Medicaid than private insurance. Additionally, those with zip codes in SW Douglas, Sarpy or other non-Douglas/Sarpy counties were more likely to have private insurance. Those in NW Douglas County had roughly equal proportions of patients with Medicaid and private insurance.

Conclusions: The results of this study may inform new policies and processes among the local dental community in an attempt to remove barriers to routine dental care for children in this area and encourage establishment of a dental home.