Report: Florida Children Utilize Hospital Emergency Rooms for Preventable Dental Issues At Highest Rate in Nation
A new report by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, spotlights pediatric emergency department use for dental care in Florida. Researchers found that children in Florida aged 14 and younger are seeking dental care through emergency departments for non-traumatic dental conditions at one of the highest rates in the country. Use rates per 10,000 people were higher among Black (48.75) and Hispanic (22.95) children compared to white children (19.6). The most common diagnoses for these children at the time of their emergency department visit were abscesses, dental caries, stomatitis, and chronic gingivitis — conditions that are largely ...Read More
