Investigators at Ohio State University Target Managed Care (Dental Service Variability Provided by General Versus Pediatric Dentists in Ohio Medicaid: A Cross-Sectional Study): Managed Care

2026 MAR 24 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on Managed Care. According to news reporting from Columbus, Ohio, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To compare dental services delivered to Medicaid-covered children by age (0 to 21 years old), health status, and rural and nonrural settings based on the treating provider (general [GP] and pediatric dentists [PD]) in Ohio, USA. A retrospective Medicaid claims review was completed for Ohio children covered by an accountable care organization (ACO), with a dental claim from 2021 to 2022.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Ohio State University, “Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and logistic regression were used to answer the study questions. A total of 1,004 dentists treated 157,049 children. GPs outnumbered PDs 5 to 1 in the claims data. Median (M) number of children treated per dentist was 39 (M by GPs equals 34, M by PDs equals 107; P<0.001). Dentists who treated more than 100 children (n equals 376) treated 95% of the population. The age of the children treated did not differ based on rurality (P=0.49). More children treated were urban residents (3 to 1), but overwhelmingly more children in rural areas were seen by GPs than PDs (74.2% vs 51.0%; P<0.001). PDs had 16% increased odds of treating children with a complex medical condition, but this decreased in rural areas. Children from rural areas were 69% less likely to see a PD only (P <0.001). Age, health status, dentist type, and rurality all influenced access and types of treatment provided in this Medicaid population.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Rural general practitioners were more likely to see younger children and those with medical conditions, suggesting less access to specialist care.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Dental Service Variability Provided by General Versus Pediatric Dentists in Ohio Medicaid: A Cross-Sectional Study. Pediatric Dentistry, 2026;48(1):56-60. Pediatric Dentistry can be contacted at: Amer Acad Pediatric Dentistry, 211 E Chicago Avenue Suite 1036, Chicago, IL 60611-2616, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Jin Peng, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States. Additional authors for this research include Charlotte Sjulin, Paul S. Casamassimo, Kimberly J. Hammersmith, David O. Danesh and Beau D. Meyer.

Publisher contact information for the journal Pediatric Dentistry is: Amer Acad Pediatric Dentistry, 211 E Chicago Avenue Suite 1036, Chicago, IL 60611-2616, USA.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)