Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33174220›Full record

ArticleJournal of public health dentistry2021

Geographic variations in dental sealant utilization by Medicaid enrollees.

Christopher E Okunseri, Elaye Okunseri, Raul I Garcia, Alexis Visotcky, Aniko Szabo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of public health dentistry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Christopher E OkunseriDepartment of Clinical Services, School of Dentistry, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8057-5896
Elaye OkunseriDepartment of Clinical Services, School of Dentistry, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Raul I GarciaDepartment of Health Policy and Health Services Research, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Alexis VisotckyInstitute for Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Aniko SzaboInstitute for Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.

Funding

Dental Sealant Placements on Children's Teeth: Assessing Medicaid Policy ChangeR03DE024494 · NIDCR · MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY · PI OKUNSERI, CHRISTOPHER · 2014 to 2015
$315k
NIDCR NIH HHS R03 DE024494
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate geographical variations and their relationship to race/ethnicity in dental sealant utilization for first molars among Wisconsin Medicaid enrollees from 2010 to 2013.

methodsWisconsin Medicaid dental claims for sealants in children aged 6-16 years were analyzed. County-level population density, urban influence code, presence of dental health professional shortage areas, and population-per-dentist ratio were considered as geographic predictors. Descriptive statistics and mixed effects Poisson regression models were used to examine the effect of county level covariates on the number of dental sealants received per person-year (PY) of eligibility adjusting for patient-level characteristics. Over-dispersion was modeled by a random residual effect, and all models adjusted for single-year age and gender interaction and race/ethnicity main effect.

resultsMedicaid claims for sealants on first permanent molars for 2010-2013 totaled 288,019 over 1,130,000 PY. The age- and gender-standardized rate of first molar sealant applications per 100 PY were 27.9, 25.7, and 16.6 for White, Hispanic, and Black children, respectively. County-specific rates ranged from a low of 8.9 per 100 PY to a high of 62.6 per 100 PY. In the multivariate analysis after adjusting for geography, compared to Whites, Hispanics had highest rates (rate ratio (RR) = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.30-1.37) of dental sealant utilization followed by Blacks (RR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.21-1.29). Population density was the only significant geographic predictor (RR = 0.56 per 10-fold increase, 95% CI = 0.45-0.69).

conclusionsSubstantial geographic variability in the utilization of sealants for first molars was identified. Lower population density was the main geographical predictor of high sealant utilization.

Indexed as

Dental CariesPit and Fissure SealantsAdolescentBlack or African AmericanChildHumansMedicaidMolarUnited StatesWisconsinPit and Fissure Sealantsaccess to dental carechildrendental sealantsgeographyutilization of service

Identifiers

PMID33174220
PMCPMC9416798

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.