TITLE:
Emergency Department Admissions for Dental & Oral Health Concerns in Rural Northwestern Pennsylvania
AUTHORS:
Matthew Zaborowski, Rebecca Dawson
KEYWORDS:
Community Health, Oral Health, Emergency Department Admissions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Emergency Medicine,
Vol.4 No.1,
March
31,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Oral health emergency department (ED) visits are increasing nationally. This increase
in ED admissions is an indicator that preventative dental and oral healthcare practices are
not being utilized. Methods: Data was obtained from the Meadville Medical Center. Fourteen ICD-9
codes for dental and oral health admissions over 10 years were categorized and analyzed. Data
was graphed to illustrate trends over time and the chi-square test of independence was used to
determine associations between admissions types and demographic characteristics. Results: ED
admissions for dental and oral health issues were most common among individuals age 19 - 38
years. Most individuals admitted to the ED for these concerns paid with private medical insurance
or were uninsured. The categorization of ICD-9 codes allowed us to see that ED use for structural
and soft-issues decreased at the end of the decade under study. However, admissions for infections
and dental caries increased over time. Conclusions: The opening of a free dental clinic in
2011 might be associated with the decrease in overall admissions for dental and oral health concerns
as well as soft tissue and structural admissions. The increase in ED admissions for dental caries
and infections illustrates that more affordable and preventative dental and oral health care
and education are need.