Feasibility and usability of measuring receipt of sealants in 2 states

Abstract

Background: The authors examined the reliability and validity of the Dental Quality Alliance childhood sealant measure under actual use conditions in Texas and Florida. The 2 states provide care for almost 20% of children in Medicaid nationally.

Methods: The authors used dental claims data to examine the reliability of the caries risk assessment component of the measure. They examined validity using a 3-year look-back period to identify children who were inaccurately included in the measure denominator as sealant eligible when they were not owing to already sealed, missing, or restored teeth.

Results: The children identified at elevated risk varied between the states, with 85% at elevated risk in Texas and 39% in Florida in 2017. Different methods can be used to calculate risk, raising questions about reliability. In Texas, 31% of children included in the denominator were not eligible to receive sealants owing to already sealed, missing, or restored teeth. The magnitude of the underestimation increased with age, so by the time children were 9 years old, 40% were not measure eligible yet included in the denominator. Similar results were observed for Florida.

Conclusions: The authors propose eliminating the caries risk assessment requirement and incorporating a 3-year look-back period to identify already sealed, missing, or restored molars.

Practical implications: The reliability and validity of the sealant measure needs to be enhanced. Measure misspecification in which children are not correctly identified as needing sealants can contribute to inaccurate development of quality improvement goals, performance improvement projects, or pay-for-quality programs.

Keywords: Medicaid; Pediatric dentistry; quality of care; sealant prevalence.