The future of dental managed care in the US

Managed care is slowly becoming more prominent within dental benefit programs, with nearly 30% of insured people participating in a dental managed care plan. This number is expected to increase steadily over time, but not with the same speed that it has with medicine. In combination with the changing demographics of the country and the diminishing supply of dental personnel, managed care will have less power over the dental market place than it has had over medicine. In the future, changes will be dependent on the demand for dental treatment and also the supply of dentists. With increased demand, decreased personnel and a minority of Americans having dental insurance, dentists are in a better position than their medical counterparts. If the influence of managed care is not diminished, the effects on the practice of dentistry will be dramatic. Managed care will eventually introduce outcomes assessment, utilization management, and reduced fees. This will transform the practice of dentistry into a two-tiered system, treating fee-for-service and managed care patients differently.