Dental Care Utilization Among Medicaid-Enrolled Adults With Substance Use Disorder

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Dental Public Health

Background:

• Low-income adults enrolled in Medicaid often experience poor oral health and substance use disorders (SUDs).
• Emerging evidence suggests comprehensive dental care can improve SUD outcomes, but data on the intersection of SUD and dental care utilization is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between substance use disorders (SUDs) and dental care utilization among Medicaid-enrolled adults.
• To identify variations in SUD prevalence and dental care access across states.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing 2019 data from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic Files.
• Included over 30 million non-dually eligible Medicaid-enrolled adults aged 21-64.
• Employed clustered-robust standard error logistic regression to analyze the odds of receiving early-stage dental care.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of SUD among Medicaid adults varied significantly by state (27.11–103.45 per 1,000).
• Dental care utilization also showed substantial state-level variation (1.69–347.27 per 1,000).
• Medicaid adults with SUD had 42% lower odds of receiving early-stage dental care compared to those without SUD.

Conclusions:

• Significant state-level variations exist in both SUD prevalence and dental care utilization among Medicaid enrollees.
• Further research is crucial to understand factors driving these disparities.
• Findings underscore the need for policy and clinical interventions to enhance dental care access for Medicaid adults, particularly those with SUDs.