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- Title
Availability of Dental Appointments for Young Children in King County, Washington: Implications for Access to Care.
- Authors
Smith, Richard G.; Lewis, Charlotte W.
- Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of dental offices in King County willing to provide a new appointment to young children and young children on Medicaid. Methods: A simulated parent phone call was made to 508 randomly chosen dental offices in King County. Of these, 291 offices provided preventive dental care to children. Data were collected on: (1) youngest age seen (options ranged from less than 1 to older than 5 years); (2) whether Medicaid was accepted; and (3) time to first available appointment. Results: In King County, more than 99% of dental offices providing care to children would see new patients 5 years of age or older, hut only 15% of these offices would accept 5-year-olds on Medicaid. Nine percent of dental offices accepted patients younger than 1 for a new preventive visit, but just 3% accepted Medicaid-insured children in this age group. Conclusions: Adhering to recommendations for early initiation of dental care is difficult, given the limited availability of dental appointments for young and Medicaid-insured children.
- Subjects
KING County (Wash.); WASHINGTON (State); DENTAL offices; PEDIATRIC dentistry; MEDICAL appointments; PRACTICE of dentistry; DENTISTRY
- Publication
Pediatric Dentistry, 2005, Vol 27, Issue 3, p207
- ISSN
0164-1263
- Publication type
Article