The effect of supplier inducement on Norwegian dental services; some empirical findings based on a theoretical model

The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether the amount of dental care demanded and the amount of dental care received in Norway were influenced by supplier inducement. There is a fixed price schedule for dental care in Norway, which establishes the framework for the theoretical model on which the empirical studies were based. The model has been developed by Birch (1988), and it describes how the utilisation of dental services may be influenced both by supplier inducement and reduced shadow prices (access costs) when the population to dentist ratio decreases. The sample of 1200 individuals was representative of the non-institutionalised Norwegian population aged 20 years and over. Variables measuring access costs, rationing of care, oral health, unmet need, family income and socio-demographic characteristics of the population were included as control variables. Supplier inducement effects were found on dentist-initiated visits, and on the cost per visit. It was concluded that dentists in areas of excess supply were able to maintain their workload by increasing the demand for and the utilisation of their services. Also, that the existing maldistribution of dentists between the northern and southern parts of Norway is not likely to be altered by allowing market mechanisms to operate on the dental care market.