Trends of children being given advice for dental checkups and having a dental visit in the United States: 2001–2016

INTRODUCTION: The objectives of this study were to describe trends of children being given dental checkup advice by primary care providers (PCPs) and having dental visits and to assess factors associated with being given dental checkup advice and having a dental visit. METHODS: Data were from the annual, cross-sectional Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) from 2001 to 2016. The sample included 126,773 children ages 2-17 years. We used predictive margins to estimate the probability of being given dental checkup advice and having a dental visit. We examined time trends of the proportion of children being given dental checkup advice from PCPs, as well as trends in the proportion of children having a dental visit from 2001 to 2016. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between being given dental checkup advice and having a dental visit. RESULTS: Overall, the proportion of children being given dental checkup advice increased from 31.4% in 2001 to 51.8% in 2016 (Trend P 0.05). Children being given dental checkup advice were more likely to have a dental visit (AOR = 1.54, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although there was an increase in the proportion of children being given advice to have dental checkups by PCPs from 2001 to 2016, there was no significant increase in having a dental visit among children being given the advice. More research is needed to better understand how dental care advice from a PCP can effectively motivate and facilitate dental care for children.