Endodontic Resident/ 1st Year University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Access to pediatric endodontic care through Medicaid participating clinics in Western Pennsylvania can be limited in rural areas. General dentists that provide endodontic treatment to pediatric patients assist with this access to care. However, this does not meet patient demand for complete endodontic treatment. The Endodontics Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is a specialty care clinic that participates in Medicaid in Western Pennsylvania. An search via Axium, the dental health record database, was conducted for patients at the University of Pittsburgh between the ages of 7 to 18 years old who presented for initial root canal therapy (dental codes DD3310, DD320, and DD3330) from 2010 to 2020. Over 3% of all patients in this sample initiated endodontic treatment but did not return to complete care. This statistic was consistent amongst the investigated dental codes and age groups. Pending Institutional Review Board approval, a further record review into causative factors for incomplete treatment will be analyzed, including distance from patients' homes to the clinic, annotation of dental anxiety, participation in Medicaid dental care plans, etc. The accuracy of D3332 coding and incomplete endodontic treatment due to inoperable fracture or non-restorability will be used to inform proper documentation and coding within this data and evaluate patient compliance with treatment completion. Further studies with the Pennsylvania Health Department will be used to determine completion rates for root canal therapy by Medicaid patients ages 7 to 18 years by general dentists in Western Pennsylvania.
