MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999 Sep 3;48(34):753-7.
Treatment costs for dental decay in young children can be substantial, especially if extensive dental procedures and general anesthesia in a hospital operating room (OR) are needed. Because caries in the primary dentition disproportionately affect children from low-income households, the cost for care frequently is reimbursed by state Medicaid programs. To determine whether the average treatment cost for Medicaid-eligible children in Louisiana differed by community fluoridation status, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) and CDC analyzed Medicaid dental reimbursements and Medicaid eligibility records from July 1995 through June 1996 for children aged 1-5 years. Findings suggest that Medicaid-eligible children in communities without fluoridated water were three times more likely than Medicaid-eligible children in communities with fluoridated water to receive dental treatment in a hospital OR, and the cost of dental treatment per eligible child was approximately twice as high.
幼儿龋齿的治疗费用可能相当高昂，尤其是在需要进行广泛的牙科手术以及在医院手术室进行全身麻醉的情况下。由于乳牙龋齿对低收入家庭儿童的影响尤为严重，护理费用通常由州医疗补助计划报销。为了确定路易斯安那州符合医疗补助条件的儿童的平均治疗费用是否因社区的氟化水状况而有所不同，路易斯安那州卫生与医院部（LDHH）和疾病预防控制中心（CDC）分析了1995年7月至1996年6月期间1至5岁儿童的医疗补助牙科报销记录和医疗补助资格记录。研究结果表明，没有氟化水社区中符合医疗补助条件的儿童在医院手术室接受牙科治疗的可能性是有氟化水社区中符合医疗补助条件儿童的三倍，而且每个符合条件儿童的牙科治疗费用大约高出一倍。
