Child Dental Services Data collected by Medicaid (CMS 416 data) include the number of children age 0-20 who received an Iowa Medicaid reimbursed dental and/or oral health service per provider type. It is more cost-effective to receive care from one of these health care providers than to seek dental care for an emergency in a hospital emergency department.
Accessing dental services from dental providers, especially preventive services, is optimal for oral health and overall physical health. Poor oral health has been linked to diabetes (1) and cardiovascular disease (1), among other chronic diseases.
These data can be used to identify trends and patterns of receiving dental and/or oral health services over time, among age groups, and in various geographic areas.
After September 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services adjusted the definition for ‘an oral health service provided by a non-dentist’ from ‘...provided in a Title V screening center and maternal health center, or a physician’s office’; to ‘...provided in a physician office and by nurses working in screening centers’. Caution must be used when evaluating trends or comparing data from 2012 and before to data from 2013 and later.
As of Fiscal Year 2019, the 'Oral Health Service by a Medical Provider' measure changed significantly due to a corrected issue. Nurses that provided oral health services through Title V Screening Centers are now correctly captured in this column.
**The ‘Sealant on Permanent Molar Tooth’ measure is only collected and reported for age groups 6-9 and 10-14.
Data is presented in Federal Fiscal Year (ex. “2017” runs October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017).
Interpretation examples:
- In 2017, 62.4% of Delaware County residents under 21 years of age with Medicaid dental insurance received a dental or oral health service.
- In 2017, only 39.8% of Dallas County residents under 5 years of age with Medicaid dental insurance received a dental service, compared to 48.7% of all Iowa residents under 5 years of age with Medicaid dental insurance.
- Since 2013, the percent of Butler County residents under 21 years of age with Medicaid dental insurance that received a dental or oral health service has increased by 16%.
Measure Description:
- The Count of Total Eligible (Medicaid) is the number of children enrolled in Iowa Medicaid with dental coverage. This should be used as a denominator when performing calculations with this data.
- The measure, ‘Count’ is the number of Medicaid enrolled children who had a reimbursed dental and/or oral health service.
- The measure, ‘Percent’ is the number of Medicaid enrolled children who had a reimbursed dental and/or oral health service divided by the number of children enrolled in Iowa Medicaid with dental coverage.