Dental service mix among working-age adults in the United States, 1999 and 2009

In the United States, health-care costs are increasing while state and federal budgets contract. In order to establish a baseline and provide data for alternative oral health workforce models, this report describes the types of dental procedures received by US working-age adults in 2009 and looks at trends since 1999.

Data for this analysis came from the 1999 and 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys. The primary outcome variable represented the types of dental procedures undergone during a dental visit in the preceding year. Descriptive variables included dental insurance coverage and income. Analysis was restricted to adults aged 21-64 years.

In 2009, diagnostic and preventive procedures accounted for >75 percent of all dental services received by working-age adults. Those with public insurance and those who were uninsured, as well as those with lower income, were less likely to receive these services than their peers. Between 1999 and 2009, small but statistically significant increases in the proportion of preventive and diagnostic procedures received occurred in the nation. The likelihood that a preventive service would be received during a visit also increased during this period, while the probability that a restorative procedure would be undergone went down.

Preventive-type procedures represented the vast majority of dental services received by working-age adults in 2009. Between 1999 and 2009, receipt of preventive-type procedures generally increased while receipt of surgical-type procedures decreased. These findings emphasize the health-promoting role of the dental team and provide a baseline for the measurement of future trends.