Medicaid dental coverage during pregnancy and early childhood
Official title: Impact of Pregnancy Dental Benefits on Dental Care Utilization among Pregnant Women and Young Children
Funded at University of California-Irvine · NIH-11308682 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether giving Medicaid dental benefits during pregnancy helps pregnant people get dental care and reduces tooth decay in their young children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California-Irvine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Irvine, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $447,443 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DE033732-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11308682 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The focus is on pregnant people enrolled in Medicaid and their young children (infants through preschool age).
✕Less likely to help
People with private dental insurance, pregnant people not enrolled in Medicaid, or older children and adults beyond early childhood may not be directly affected by this work.
What this research studies
If you're pregnant and on Medicaid, this research looks at whether adding dental coverage during pregnancy makes people more likely to visit the dentist. The team will compare Medicaid claims and survey reports from states and time periods with and without pregnancy dental benefits using quasi-experimental methods. They will track the types of services pregnant people use (preventive versus restorative) and follow their children to see whether increased preventive care lowers early childhood cavities. The goal is to produce clear evidence policymakers can use to decide whether pregnancy dental benefits should be expanded.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, expanding pregnancy dental benefits could increase prenatal dental care and help prevent early childhood tooth decay.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies suggest dental coverage increases use and can reduce cavities, but this project uses stronger quasi-experimental methods to provide clearer causal evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lipton, Brandy — University of California-Irvine
- Study coordinator: Lipton, Brandy
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.