Comparative analysis of dental procedure mix in public and private dental benefits programs

There is little published research on whether public and private dental benefits plans affect the types of oral health care procedures patients receive. This study compares the dental procedure mix by age group (children, working-age adults, older adults), dental benefits type (Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, private), and level of Medicaid dental benefits by state (emergency only, limited, extensive).

The authors extracted public dental benefits claims data from the 2018 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System. To compare procedure mix with beneficiaries who had private dental benefits, the authors used claims data from the 2018 IBM MarketScan dental database. The authors categorized dental procedures into specific service categories and calculated the share of procedures performed within each category. They analyzed procedure mix by age, plan type (fee-for-service, managed care), and adult Medicaid benefit level.

Aside from orthodontic services, the dental procedure mix among children with public and private benefits is similar. Among adults with public benefits, surgical interventions make up a higher share of dental procedures than routine preventive services.

Children with public benefits have a procedure mix comparable with those with private benefits. There are substantial differences in procedure mix between publicly and privately insured adults. Even in states that provide extensive dental benefits in Medicaid, those programs primarily finance invasive surgical treatment as opposed to preventive treatment.

There is a need to assess best practices in publicly funded programs for children and translate those attributes to programs for adults for more equitable benefit design and care delivery across public and private insurers.