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Children that received any dental service by insurance type in Maine

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Why This Indicator Matters

Dental disease can affect children’s overall health, self-confidence, school readiness and future employment success. Poor oral health in childhood contributes to serious and costly complications for health and economic stability later in life.CDC: child dental health is important

What the data shows
In 2023, 47% of children with MaineCare and 70% of children with commercial dental insurance had at least one dental service during the calendar year. This rate was up from 44% the previous year for children with MaineCare, and 69% from the previous year for children with commercial insurance. In terms of numbers, in 2023, there were 60,660 children who had a dental service with commercial insurance and 58,103 children with MaineCare who had a dental service. 

For 2023, combining commercially insured and children with MaineCare, the highest rates of insured children with at least one dental service were in the counties of Piscataquis, Aroostook, at 46%, 44% and 43% respectively. The counties with the lowest combined rates of insured children with a dental service in 2023 were Hancock, Androscoggin, and Knox -- at rates of 31%, 36% and 37% respectively.


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Definition and Source

PROVIDER

Definition

This indicator compares the number and percent of children with Medicaid (known as MaineCare in Maine) to the number and percent of children with commercial insurance who received a dental service in the calendar year.

The data comes from the Maine Health Data Organization's All Payer Claims Dataset, and the numbers and percents reflect children (ages 0- 20) who had either MaineCare or commercial dental coverage for at least 11 months of the year, and who had at least one claim for a dental service.

Data Source

The Children's Oral Health Network of Maine provided the analysis. The data comes from the Maine Health Data Organization's All Payer Claims Dataset. Please refer to the MHDO website for more details regarding data restrictions and represented insurers.

Notes

Note that children without any dental coverage and children with intermittent coverage less than 11 months of the year are not included. Total refers to all children who have either continuous Medicaid or continuous commercial insurance. Total does not mean all children in Maine.

Last Updated

October 2025