Cost-effectiveness study of a school-based sealant program

A nonprofit private dental clinic provides free dental treatment for children up to the age of eighteen years. In order to expand its services to reach more children, a school-based sealant program using dental auxiliary personnel was organized. This paper evaluated the performance of the school-based program during 1991 by comparing the costs of the school-based program with the costs of the sealants placed in the clinic in twelve months. Costs were calculated based on 1991 expenditures, and effectiveness rates were estimated from dental literature on sealants. The cost of saving one tooth-surface from decaying within a six-year period at the school and the clinic was $65 and $42 with an average sealing time per tooth surface of 18 and 12.5 minutes, respectively. Despite the relatively lower cost of personnel, the school program cost was 35 percent higher than at the clinic. Nevertheless, if hidden costs, such as transportation, time off work, and waiting time for those attending the clinic were considered, costs could be comparable or even higher for the clinic. The main goal of this paper is to explore a methodology to compare programs of different nature, and critically evaluate the results.