Preventable Dental Conditions in Emergency Departments and Their Associations With Workforce Availability and Coverage Policies

Emergency department (ED) visits for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDC) are rising steadily in the US, highlighting persistent gaps in access to routine dental care. Common ED diagnoses such as dental caries, pulpal and periapical conditions, and gingival and periodontal disease are largely preventable with routine dental care.

In 2019, there were 1.8 million hospital ED visits for NTDCs costing an estimated $3.4 billion. Young adults, people with low income, Medicaid beneficiaries, the uninsured, and residents of high poverty urban areas disproportionately rely on ED care for dental problems that could be managed more effectively and at lower cost in dental care settings.

This project will evaluate NTDC-related ED visits, their variation across patient sociodemographic characteristics, and potential associations with state-level factors including the availability of oral health professionals, scope of practice, the presence and coverage of Medicaid adult dental benefits, and Medicaid reimbursement rates. By linking ED utilization data with the state oral health workforce and Medicaid policies, this study will identify system-level drivers of preventable dental ED use and highlight targeted policy interventions for improving oral health care access, particularly for underserved communities.