Associate Professor East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine
Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Huabin Luo, Ph.D: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Mark E. Moss, DDS, PhD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Rashmita Basu, Ph.D: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Ford T. Grant, DMD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Abstract: Objectives To assess the rural-urban differences in dental service utilization, dental procedures, and financial burdens for Medicare beneficiaries.
Methods Data were from the 2018 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Cost and Use Files. Outcome variables examined in this study were: 1) Dental visits (Yes/No)—whether the respondent had at least one dental visit (Yes/No); 2) Dental procedures: preventive (Yes/No), restorative (Yes/No), and surgery procedures (Yes/No)—whether the beneficiary had the procedure in a dental visit; 3) Financial burden was measured by the ratio of out-of-pocket payment to total dental expenses, categorized as low, medium, and high. The independent variable was residence location (rural vs urban). Both binary and ordinal logistic regression models were used in data analysis. We accounted for the survey design of MCBS. The analytical sample included 7,745 respondents aged 65+. Results About 57.3% (95% CI: 55.4-59.2) of Medicare beneficiaries in urban and 46.6% (95% CI: 42.0-51.1) in rural communities had a dental visit in 2018. Rural beneficiaries were less like to have preventive procedures (AOR=0.57), but more likely to have restorative procedures (AOR=1.26), and more likely to pay a larger share of the dental expenses out of pocket (AOR=1.38).
Conclusions These study findings reveal significant disparities in access to dental services for Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities. They were less likely to have preventive procedures but more likely to have restorative procedures, suggesting poor oral health status among them. Policy changes are needed to improve access to dental care for Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities.
Source of Funding: Supported by HRSA Grant D88 HP37544.
