Cost differentials of dental outpatient care across clinical dentistry branches

Abstract

Background: Dental care presents affordability issues in Central & Eastern European transitional economies due to lack of insurance coverage in most countries of the region and almost complete out-of-pocket payments by citizens.Objective: Real world estimates on cost differentials across clinical dentistry branches, ICD-10 diagnostic groups and groups of dental services.Methods: Prospective case-series cost analysis was conducted from the patient perspective. A six months time horizon was adopted. Sample size was 752 complete episodes of treatment in 250 patients, selected in 2012/2013 throughout several specialist state- and private-owned dental clinics in Serbia. All direct costs of dental care were taken into account and expressed in Euros (€).Results: Mean total costs of dental care were € 46 ± 156 per single dentist visit while total costs incurred by this population sample were € 34,424. Highest unit utilization of services belongs to conservative dentistry (31.9%), oral surgery (19.5%) and radiology (17.4%), while the resource with the highest monetary value belongs to implantology € 828 ± 392, orthodontics € 706 ± 667 and prosthetics € 555 ± 244. The most frequently treated diagnosis was tooth decay (33.8% unit services provided), pulpitis (11.2%) and impacted teeth (8.5%), while most expensive to treat were anomalies of tooth position (€ 648 ± 667), abnormalities of size and form of teeth (€ 508 ± 705) and loss of teeth due to accident, extraction or local periodontal disease (€ 336 ± 339).Conclusion: Although the range of dental costs currently falls behind EU average, Serbia’s emerging economy is likely to expand in the long run while market demand for dental services will grow. Due to threatened financial sustainability of current health insurance patterns in Western Balkans, getting acquainted with true size and structure of dental care costs could essentially support informed decision making in future.

Brazilian dentists’ perceptions of using bone grafts: an inland survey

“…Costs were considered moderate by the respondents, predominantly from private practice in Sobral, a finding similar to those from a large city in southeastern Brazil 19 . However, the country suffers from chronic underfunding in public health 32 , where the costs of procedures can be substantial limitations 13,33 and only a small percentage of its population has undergone bone reconstruction procedures 16,34 . In private practice, costs are associated to the loyalty of dentists to the use of bone grafts 33 .…”

“…However, the country suffers from chronic underfunding in public health 32 , where the costs of procedures can be substantial limitations 13,33 and only a small percentage of its population has undergone bone reconstruction procedures 16,34 . In private practice, costs are associated to the loyalty of dentists to the use of bone grafts 33 . Dentists may select therapeutic options that involve high cost, based on their perception of the patient's profile and oral condition or on the patient's feedback regarding motivation or being able to afford the cost of the treatment 35 .…”

Prescribing antibiotics by dentists in Colombia: Toward a conscientious prescription

“…In addition to the absence of optimal health insurance services in many developing countries and the social inequities that lead to patients having to cover their dental needs using their own resources, 67 the unnecessary use of medication, including antibiotics, becomes another factor. The improper use of antibiotics may affect the health of the patient, increase antibiotic resistance, and also generates additional expenses to health systems, which has been reported as one of the most relevant problems in public health.…”

Long Term Dental Work Force Build-Up and DMFT-12 Improvement in the European Region

“…Serious efforts to build up dental work force capacities are only partially responsible for that success story (Velickovic et al, 2015 ). Large part of the improvements is actually attributable to the growing living standards, oral health literacy of general population and policy efforts to improve affordability of dental care to the ordinary citizens (Rančić et al, 2015 ). Nevertheless major upcoming challenges are population aging associated with extended life expectancy and blossoming of prosperity diseases and increased demand for medical care by the elderly.…”