Reduction of Medical Costs by Implementing a Preventive Dental Program in a Corporate Dental Clinic

DOI 8 Citations 18 References
  • OZAWA Yuuki
    Department of Preventive Dentistry, Tohoku University School of Dentistry
  • IWAKURA Masaki
    Department of Preventive Dentistry, Tohoku University School of Dentistry
  • TAURA Katsuhiko
    Department of Preventive Dentistry, Tohoku University School of Dentistry
  • OSHIKIRI Kuninaka
    Department of Preventive Dentistry, Tohoku University School of Dentistry
  • SAKAMOTO Seizaburo
    Department of Preventive Dentistry, Tohoku University School of Dentistry

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 某健康保険組合診療室における歯科保健活動による医療費の抑制効果
Published
1998
DOI
  • 10.5834/jdh.48.5_678
Publisher
Japanese Society for Oral Health

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Description

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible effects of implementing a preventive dental program on medical costs in a corporate dental clinic. About three hundred employees insured with a corporate health insurance program were provided with a preventive dental program which consisted of dental examinations, counseling, preventive treatments, and, if necessary, referrals for advanced treatments to community general practitioners. In dental examinations, a health questionnaire, photography of the oral cavity, a clinical examination of the teeth, and scoring of community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) and O'Leary's plaque control record (PCR) were included. The dental counseling consisted of instruction in tooth brushing. Preventive treatments were mostly dental calculus scaling, root planing for incipient periodontal diseases, and resin restorations for incipient dental caries. The preventive dental program was used for five consecutive years. The costs for the corporate health insurance program and the number of treatments were monitored semiannually during the study period. The changes in costs and treatment needs in this group were compared with those of the control which was a comparative group of employees in the same corporate organization but in a different city. The number of requested dental examinations and treatments done resulted in an interim rise in the claims of medical costs immediately after the implementation of the preventive program. These figures, however, became lower statistically than those of the control group without the preventive program, after two and three years. The results suggest that, although there may be some immediate rise in medical costs, these costs can be lowered in time by implementing a preventive dental program in a corporate dental clinic.

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