Availability of dental appointments for young children in King County, Washington: implications for access to care

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.

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.

In King County, more than 99% of dental offices providing care to children would see new patients 5 years of age or older, but 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.

Adhering to recommendations for early initiation of dental care is difficult, given the limited availability of dental appointments for young and Medicaid-insured children.