The impact of a state children's health insurance program on access to dental care

BACKGROUND: Access to dental care for low-income children is limited. The authors examined the impact of a new state children's health insurance program, or SCHIP, in North Carolina on children's access to dental care. METHODS: Parents of 639 school-aged children responded to two surveys that asked about their child's access to dental services before enrollment and one year after enrollment in the new program. The authors used two-tailed McNemar tests to detect statistically significant changes within subjects. RESULTS: The percentage of school-aged children with a visit to a dentist in the previous year increased from 48 percent at baseline to 65 percent after one year in the program. Reported unmet dental need decreased from 43 percent at baseline to 18 percent after one year of enrollment. The proportion of children reported to have a usual source of dental care improved after enrollment in the program. CONCLUSION: The SCHIP model in North Carolina is an innovative program that has made a significant impact on access to dental care for school-aged children. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: SCHIP dental programs that resemble private insurance models and reimburse dentists at rates close to market rates hold the potential to address problems associated with dental access for low-income children.