Balancing dental service requirements and supplies: the economic evidence

Article Abstract:

To better predict people's needs for dentistry in the 21st century, a conceptual model of the dental services' market has been developed. The model takes into account major factors that affect oral health, as well as anticipated supply and demand for dental services. Services are supplied according to the productivity and quantity of dental resources available; population trends and the health of the teeth create demand. Pricing allows a match to be formed between demand and supply. The market model is presented in tabular form. Consumers buy dental services to the extent their income and insurance coverage allow. Between 1970 and 1988, the amount spent on dentists' services increased by more than five and one half times, while total consumption expenditures increased by only five times; amounts spent on food and clothing rose even less. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has expressed concern that there is an oversupply of dentists, and has revised earlier estimates of expenditures downward. The HCFA estimate and that of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are compared. Dental insurance leads to increased demand for dental care and greater stability of the market: by the end of 1985, more than 100 million people had some form of dental insurance. Dentistry is rightly regarded as a growth industry, although demand will probably increase at a slower rate than in previous years. The prices charged by dentists between 1983 and 1985 increased faster than the prices charged by physicians: one consequence is that fewer people can afford dental services. Dentists need to understand the importance of this fact. Dentists' earnings expanded in the 1980s, a trend that is expected to continue. In 1989, 41 percent of all dentists earned more than $100,000 (net income) per year. Although the dentist-to-population ratio has increased steadily since 1965, it is projected, it will fall off after 1993 as a result of demographic trends. Decreasing enrollment in dental schools and retirement of practitioners who started in the 1970s will cause this decline and could result in shortages. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Supply and demand, Dentists, Dental care, Oral hygiene

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Dental implant care: should it be a specialty?

Article Abstract:

The American Dental Association (ADA) denied application by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) for specialty recognition of dental implant care in both 1985 and 1987. Dental implants are bone-anchored prostheses that are used to replace missing teeth. The number of patients who need dental implants is increasing, but the availability has not kept up with the demand. The ADA has six criteria that must be met before specialty recognition is awarded. The AAID failed to meet three of these criteria. The first criteria that the AAID failed to meet is that the new specialty should not overlap with other specialties. The second is that a postdoctoral training program of at least two years should be available. The third is that current dentists and specialists are not able care for all the patients requiring implant care.

Practice, Implant dentures, Dental implants, Dentistry

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