Examining Associations Between Medicaid Policy and Silver Diamine Fluoride Utilization.

Authors

Beau Meyer, Carson Richardson, Mikhail Jones, Juan Peng, Madison Vinson, Eric Tranby

Published in

Journal of public health dentistry. Jul 08, 2026. Epub Jul 08, 2026.

Abstract

This retrospective cohort study determined associations between Medicaid reimbursement policies for silver diamine fluoride treatment (SDF) and utilization.
Data included publicly available Medicaid provider manuals and fee schedules as well as aggregated claims from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. The main outcome was SDF utilization rate calculated as a percentage of claims per enrollees. Summary statistics and linear mixed models with random intercepts were applied.
Fourteen states were included in the analysis. The median SDF utilization rate across states increased from 1.80% (IQR: 1.37%, 2.59%) in 2018 to 3.35% (IQR: 1.94%, 5.54%) in 2022. Of seven potential policy dimensions, only reimbursement amount was significantly associated with SDF utilization rate, and only when accounting for time (β = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.18).
Policy factors, particularly reimbursement amount, likely play a role in SDF utilization; however, additional research is needed to understand how dentists adopt SDF in ways that translate into improved outcomes.

PMID:
42418227
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 08 Jul 2026.

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