Less than half of youths with sickle cell received dental services in 2022

Only forty-two percent of youths with sickle cell disease (SCD) received dental services in 2022, according to a research letter published online Sept. 3 in JAMA Network Open.

Ashley Kranz, Ph.D., from RAND Corporation in Arlington, Virginia, and colleagues examined receipt of dental services for youths with SCD benchmarked against the general population of Medicaid-enrolled youths in Michigan in 2022. Data were included for 1,096 youths aged 1 to 20 years with SCD and Michigan Medicaid and 1,181,391 youths aged 1 to 20 years with Michigan Medicaid.

The researchers found that the pediatric Medicaid population had similar rates of any dental services compared with youths with SCD (44% versus 42%), as well as similar rates of preventive dental services (40% versus 38%) and dental treatment (18% versus 15%). Most dental service rates were higher in the Medicaid population when examined by age group. For example, those aged 6 to 14 years with SCD were significantly less likely to receive any dental services and preventive dental services (50% versus 54% and 46% versus 51%, respectively).

“Our findings show that we need to take steps to make sure kids with this condition get the dental care they need—by helping dentists feel more prepared to treat them and making sure doctors know how important dental health is for these children,” senior author Sarah L. Reeves, M.P.H., Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to Cigna.

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