Dental Service Utilization Among Children in the Child Welfare System.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Social Work

Background:

• Children in the child welfare system (CWS) face unique challenges accessing healthcare.
• Understanding factors influencing dental care utilization is crucial for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify predisposing, enabling, and need-related factors associated with dental service utilization among children in the CWS.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) Wave II (n=2806).
• Weighted logistic regression models were used to examine caregiver-reported dental visits in the past year for children aged 2-17.

Main Results:

• Two-thirds of children had a recent dental visit.
• Older children and those with more educated caregivers showed higher utilization.
• Lack of a usual source of care, living with non-biological parents, and unmet financial needs were associated with lower dental visit rates.
• Children with dental problems had higher utilization, but unmet needs due to cost were a barrier.

Conclusions:

• Younger children (ages 2-5) in the CWS are particularly underserved dentally.
• Financial cost and caregiver status are significant barriers to dental care access.
• Health and social service providers should proactively refer CWS-involved children for dental care.