2020 to 2022 saw nearly 2 million annual emergency room visits for dental issues

Tooth disorders accounted for an annual average of 1,944,000 emergency department visits during 2020 to 2022, according to a June data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Susan M. Schappert and Loredana Santo, M.D., M.P.H., used data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to examine emergency department visits with a reason for visit or diagnosis of tooth disorder in 2020 to 2022.

The researchers found that during 2020 to 2022, tooth disorders accounted for an annual average of 1,944,000 emergency department visits (59.4 visits per 10,000 people). Adults ages 25 to 34 years had the largest percentage of emergency department visits for tooth disorders (29.2%). The largest percentage of emergency department tooth disorder visits was accounted for by White non-Hispanic people, followed by Black non-Hispanics and Hispanics. Medicaid was the primary expected source of payment for the majority of visits. There was a reduction seen in opioids as the sole pain relief drug given or prescribed at emergency department tooth disorder visits, from 38.1% in 2014 to 2016 to 16.5% in 2020 to 2022.

“During 2020 to 2022, tooth disorders, as a reason for visit or a diagnosis, accounted for about 1.9 million emergency department visits per year, or about 1.4% of all emergency department visits, with a rate of 59.4 visits per 10,000 people,” the authors write. “The percent distribution of emergency department visits for tooth disorders varied by patient age and by patient race and ethnicity, but not by patient sex.”

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