We study the extent and drivers of income-related inequity in utilization of dental services in Canada using the concentration-index approach that has been widely applied to study inequity in physician and hospital services. Because dental care is almost wholly privately financed in Canada, our estimates provide a benchmark for income-related inequity of utilization in private health systems. A...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Although preventive dental visits are considered important for maintaining pediatric oral health, there is relatively little research showing that they reduce subsequent nonpreventive dental visits or costs. At least 1 study seemed to find that early preventive dental care is associated with more restorative and emergency visits. Previous studies are limited by their in...

High-quality appropriate dental care should encompass the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency. Many dental procedures are ineffective, and some preventive measures are inefficient. Examples of criteria that are ethically essential to use before carrying out any clinical procedure are outlined based on the concepts included in 'informed consent'. Applying the criteria rigorously will lead t...

OBJECTIVE To explore trends in access to dental care among middle-income Canadians. METHODS A secondary data analysis of six Canadian surveys that collected information on dental insurance coverage, cost-barriers to dental care, and out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care was conducted for select years from 1978 to 2009. Descriptive analyses were used to outline and compare trends among mi...

PURPOSE This study examines the impact of dental coverage provided through a health insurance program for low-income children on the use of dental services in Western Pennsylvania. METHODS A before-after design with a control group was used. Telephone interviews were conducted with the families of newly enrolled children at the time of enrollment, at 6 months and at 12 months after enrollment...

The study examines changes in the distribution and socioeconomic inequalities of dental care utilization among adults after the major healthcare reform in Chile, 2004-2009. We evaluated the proportion of people who visited the dentist at least once in the previous two years, and the mean number of visits. These outcome variables were stratified by sex, age (20-39, 40-59, 60-63; ≥64 years), educ...

The Brazilian dental care sector is facing a paradoxical crisis characterized by a surplus of dentists and a large contingent of people lacking dental care, thus highlighting the need to improve management strategies. One necessary step is to analyze the various payment schemes for dental services. This paper reviews two important approaches, fee for service and capitation, and considers the im...

PURPOSE The Lumbee tribe, North Carolina's largest American Indian tribe, is located in Robeson County, where there is an access to dental care crisis. There is a high incidence of systemic diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes. The tribe also has a higher rate of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to Caucasian populations. There is little information available regardin...

Dental caries can be prevented by a combination of community, professional, and individual measures including water fluoridation, professionally applied topical fluorides and dental sealants, and use of fluoride toothpastes. Yet, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Dental care is the most prevalent unmet health need in US children with wide disparities existing in oral ...

background and aims. irrational prescription of antibiotics by clinicians might lead to drug resistance. clinicians do prescribe antibiotics for either prophylactic or therapeutic reasons. the decision of when and what to prescribe leaves room for misuse and therefore it is imperative to continuously monitor knowledge and pattern of prescription. the aim of the present study was to determine th...