Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42760958›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2026

Trends in Why Americans Delayed Dental Care From Pre-Pandemic to the COVID-19 Era: Implications for Aging and Oral Public Health.

Preeti Pushpalata Zanwar, Jay Sureshbhai Patel, Chan Shen

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

3 authors.

Preeti Pushpalata ZanwarCenter for Healthy Aging Behaviors and Longitudinal Investigations (CHABLIS), The University of Chicago, 5801 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-1521-9809
Jay Sureshbhai PatelDepartment of Health Services Administration and Policy, Barnett College of Public Health, Temple University, 1210 W. Berks St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States.
Chan ShenDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, 700 HMC Crescent Road, Hershey, PA, 17033, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: To describe age-group differences in inability to afford dental treatment and cost related dental delay, among the US community-dwelling population. Study design: Descriptive analysis of nationally representative survey data. Methods: Using nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data (2018-2021), we examined trends in inability to afford dental treatment and cost-related dental treatment delays across four age groups (2-17, 18-39, 40-64, ≥65 years). Weighted analyses accounted for the complex survey design; statistical significance was set at Results: Cost-related delays declined modestly from 2018 to 2021 but remained most prevalent among adults aged 40-64 (4.8% for ages 40-64, 3.4% for ages 18-64, 2.2% for ages≥65 in 2021; p<0.001). Conclusion: Middle-aged adults seem to experience delays due to cost, underscoring the need for dental coverage to expand dental coverage for this group and to reduce their out-of-pocket costs.

Indexed as

adultsCOVID-19dental care affordabilitydental public healthdental treatment delayHealth disparitiesMedical Expenditure Panel SurveyOral health access

Identifiers

PMID42760958
PMCPMC13585024

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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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.