Lack of insurance and money are driving more Americans to emergency rooms for dental care, according to federal health statistics.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that young people, the uninsured, Medicaid patients, the poor, and those living in rural areas are the most likely to seek dental services from ERs.

Over a four-year period (2006-2009), the number of dental-related ER visits increased 16%, rising from 874,000 to 936,432 visits.

In 2009 nearly 13,000 hospital inpatient stays were related to dental problems.

Dental abscess was the principal diagnosis for 63% of the inpatient stays, while 42% of ER visits were related to cavities.

AHRQ also found that the majority of dental ER cases (62%) were people aged 18–44, and that people in rural areas were twice as likely to visit the ER for tooth problems than those living in cities.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Emergency Department Visits for Dental-Related Conditions, 2009 (by Krystle Seu, Kendall K. Hall and Ernest Moy, Statistical Brief #143, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality) (pdf)

Report: Most Dental ER Patients Are Young, Uninsured, Rural (by Rob Goszkowski, Dr. Bicuspid.com)

The Shrinking World of Available Dental Care (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)

Emergency Room Dental Visits on the Rise…Costly Health Care Failure (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)