Does the elimination of Medicaid reimbursement affect the frequency of emergency department dental visits?

In an attempt to save costs, the state of Maryland in February 1993 eliminated Medicaid reimbursement to dentists for treatment of adults with dental emergencies. The authors analyzed data from the University of Maryland Hospital's emergency department to determine if this change resulted in increased use of the emergency department by Medicaid recipients for treatment of dental conditions. After the policy change, the rate of dental visits to the emergency department by Medicaid recipients increased by 21.8 percent. This increase occurred during the same period in which the percentage of all emergency department visits by Medicaid recipients was decreasing.