Reports from University of Washington Provide New Insights into Orthodontics (Racial disparities in orthodontic service use for Medicaid-enrolled…

Reports from University of Washington Provide New Insights into Orthodontics (Racial disparities in orthodontic service use for Medicaid-enrolled children: An evaluation of the Washington Medicaid program)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on Orthodontics. According to news reporting originating in Seattle, Washington, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "We assessed the relationship between race and orthodontic service use for Medicaid-enrolled children. This cross-sectional study focused on 570,364 Medicaid-enrolled children in Washington state, ages 6 to 19 years."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Washington, "The main predictor variable was self-reported race (white vs nonwhite). The outcome variable was orthodontic service use, defined as children who were preauthorized for orthodontic treatment by Medicaid in 2012 and subsequently received orthodontic records and initiated treatment. Logistic regression models were used to test the hypothesis that nonwhites are less likely to use orthodontic care than are whites. A total of 8223 children were approved by Medicaid for orthodontic treatment, and 7313 received records and began treatment. Nonwhites were significantly more likely to use orthodontic care than were whites (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.36; P = 0.031). Hispanic nonwhite children were more likely to use orthodontic care than were non-Hispanic white children (OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.18, 1.70; P< 0.001). In 2012, nonwhite children in the Washington Medicaid program were significantly more likely to use orthodontic care than were white children. The Washington Medicaid program demonstrates a potential model for addressing racial disparities in orthodontic service use."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Future research should identify mechanisms underlying these findings and continue to monitor orthodontic service use for minority children in Medicaid."

For more information on this research see: Racial disparities in orthodontic service use for Medicaid-enrolled children: An evaluation of the Washington Medicaid program. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 2016;149(4):516-522. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics can be contacted at: Mosby-Elsevier, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics - www.journals.elsevier.com/american-journal-of-orthodontics-and-dentofacial-orthopedics/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting J.M. Merritt, University of Washington, Sch Dental, Dept. of Oral Hlth Sci, Seattle, WA 98195, United States. Additional authors for this research include G. Greenlee, A.M. Bollen, J.M. Scott and D.L. Chi.

Keywords for this news article include: Seattle, Medicaid, Washington, Orthodontics, United States, Health Policy, North and Central America

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