Examining the Impact of Social Vulnerability and Dental Provider Availability on Spatial Patterns of Emergency Dental Care Utilization

Abstract

Our goal was to investigate the relationship between the availability of dental providers, the ZIP code social vulnerability index, and the usage of emergency dental treatment. Methods: Using extended spatial two- stage least-squares to account for geographical correlation, this cross- sectional observational analysis mapped differences in emergency dental treatment and examined their relationship to social vulnerability. We used secondary data from the US Census American Community Survey, InfoUSA, and the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission to perform spatial autoregressive modeling to investigate the impact of dental provider capacity and social vulnerability on emergency care use across neighboring counties, taking into account ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) spillover effects. Using emergency department visits and inpatient stays per 1000 persons for dental diseases as the dependent variable, we examined the use of emergency dental treatment in ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. Conclusions The usage of emergency dental care was associated with social vulnerability and the availability of dental providers.