Patient characteristics and trends in nontraumatic dental condition visits to emergency departments in the United States

OBJECTIVE We examined trends and patient characteristics for non-traumatic dental condition (NTDC) visits to emergency departments (EDs), and compared them to other ED visit types, specifically non-dental ambulatory care sensitive conditions (non-dental ACSCs) and non-ambulatory care sensitive conditions (non-ACSCs) in the United States. METHODS We analyzed data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care survey (NHAMCS) for 1997 to 2007. We performed descriptive statistics and used a multivariate multinomial logistic regression to examine the odds of one of the three visit types occurring at an ED. All analyses were adjusted for the survey design. RESULTS NTDC visits accounted for 1.4% of all ED visits with a 4% annual rate of increase (from 1.0% in 1997 to 1.7% in 2007). Self-pay patients (32%) and Medicaid enrollees (27%) were over-represented among NTDC visits compared to non-dental ACSC and non-ACSC visits (P < 0.0001). Females consistently accounted for over 50% of all types of ED visits examined. Compared to whites, Hispanics had significantly lower odds of an NDTC visit versus other visit types (P < 0.0001). Blacks had significantly lower odds of making NDTC visits when compared to non-dental ACSC visits only (P < 0.0001). Compared to private insurance enrollees, Medicaid and self-pay patients had 2-3 times the odds of making NTDC visits compared to other visit types. CONCLUSION Nationally, NTDC visits to emergency departments increased over time. Medicaid and self-pay patients had significantly higher odds of making NDTC visits.