Treatment Outcomes and Retention in Medicaid and non-Medicaid Orthodontic Patients

摘要

Medicaid orthodontic patients have been shown to miss more appointments and break more appliances than self-pay patients, indicating a greater tendency toward non-compliance. Lack of compliance during the post-treatment phase can be detrimental to retention. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in PAR score changes between Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients during and after orthodontic treatment. PAR scores were determined using study models of 43 Medicaid and 39 non-Medicaid patients before and at the end of active treatment, and 24 Medicaid and 42 non-Medicaid patients at the end of treatment and at an average of 13 months post-treatment. PAR scores generally reduce during treatment and will increase if relapse occurs. Rates of PAR score change during and after treatment were compared between Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The mean initial PAR score was greater in the Medicaid group (31.95 versus 23.28; p=0.003) while there was no significant difference found between the two groups for the end of treatment PAR scores (3.22 versus 2.93; p=0.451). The rates of PAR score improvement during treatment (14.07/year versus 12.14/year; p=0.203) and worsening after the removal of orthodontic appliances (2.04/year versus 2.91/year; p=0.872) were found not to differ between the two groups. It was found that the rate of PAR score improvement during treatment did not differ between Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients. During the post-treatment period, the rate of PAR score worsening was also found not to differ.