Dental check-up of California's State Children's Health Insurance program.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare dental utilization rates and related factors for children in California's State Children's Health Insurance dental program (SCHIP) to those for children with other types of dental insurance coverage or no coverage.

Methods: Data from the cross-sectional 2001 California Health Interview Survey for 10,454 children 2 to 11 years old were used. Data analyzed included: (1) the child's most recent dental visit; (2) dental insurance status; and (3) type of health insurance coverage.

Results: In 2001, 5% (+/-SE=0.3) of California children had SCHIP dental coverage, 19% had Medicaid dental insurance (Denti-CAL), and 52% had private dental insurance. Twenty-three percent (+/-0.5) of children, however, had no dental insurance. Dental utilization rates varied significantly according to type of dental insurance. Compared to uninsured children, SCHIP children were more likely to use dental services within the past year (58% vs 72%). Annual dental utilization rates were even higher for Denti-CAL and privately insured children (76% and 80%, respectively). Factors associated with disparities in dental utilization included lack of a usual source of health care and lack of continuous health insurance.

Conclusions: Significant disparities occurred by dental insurance status and type. Annual dental utilization rates for SCHIP children lagged behind those of children with Denti-CAL or private dental insurance.