Emergency Room Visits for Dental Issues Nearly Reach 2 Million Annually from 2020 to 2022

Between 2020 and 2022, emergency departments across the United States saw an average of nearly 2 million visits each year due to dental problems, according to a report published by the National Center for Health Statistics. Specifically, tooth-related disorders accounted for approximately 1.944 million emergency room visits annually during this period, which translates to about 59.4 visits per 10,000 people. Researchers Susan M. Schappert and Loredana Santo analyzed data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to identify patterns in these dental emergency visits.

The analysis revealed that young adults aged 25 to 34 years had the highest percentage of visits related to tooth disorders, comprising 29.2% of such emergencies. Racial disparities were also observed, with White non-Hispanic individuals making up the largest portion of patients seeking emergency dental care, followed by Black non-Hispanics and Hispanics. A significant portion of these visits was paid for through Medicaid, highlighting socioeconomic factors involved in emergency dental care.

Furthermore, there has been a notable decrease in the use of opioids as the sole pain relief medication during these visits, declining from 38.1% in 2014-2016 to 16.5% in 2020-2022, reflecting changing pain management practices.

The findings underscore the substantial burden that dental issues place on emergency healthcare services and highlight ongoing disparities based on age and ethnicity. It also emphasizes the importance of improving dental health access and preventive care to reduce the reliance on emergency services for dental problems.

For more detailed information, refer to the CDC’s data brief at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db531.htm.