While emergency department (ED) visits for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) have declined since 2019, costs have risen significantly — $500 million — to a total of $3.9 billion, according to a new analysis of ED trends by CareQuest Institute.
In 2019, there were 1.8 million ED visits for NTDCs at a cost of $3.4 billion; in 2022, there were 1.6 million ED visits at a cost of $3.9 billion. The higher costs were driven by a 29% increase in the mean cost of an ED visit for NTDCs, from $1,887 in 2019 to $2,437 in 2022 — much higher than the average cost of a dental visit.
Additional key findings include:
- Among children aged 14 and under, there was a significant increase in ED visits for NTDCs, from 27.3 to 43.1 visits per 10,000 people between 2019 and 2022.
- Among children aged 14 and under who visited an ED for NTDCs, nearly 75% had Medicaid dental insurance.
- Two-thirds (66.6%) of all ED visits for NTDCs were made by individuals with Medicaid dental insurance (48.1%) or were uninsured (18.5%).
Hospital ED visits for non-traumatic dental conditions can strain vital resources and increase the workload for ED staff. The authors write:
ED visits for dental care increase when Medicaid adult dental benefits are eliminated.”
Several sources have estimated that as many as 12 million people will lose their Medicaid health insurance due to the 2025 federal budget reconciliation law.
You may also be interested in:
- The Need for Medicaid Adult Dental Coverage Across All States, a fact sheet outlining the health risks and economic consequences of Medicaid’s varying adult dental benefits across states.
- Federal Medicaid Cuts Threaten State Dental Benefits, a report examining the lessons learned in six states that eliminated Medicaid adult dental benefits in the past.
- It’s Time, Right Now, for Policy Leaders to Address America’s Oral Health Crisis, a blog post from our Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy outlining the policy solutions that are needed to improve oral health in the US.
