[Changes in hourly rate for dental treatment in the 1980s]

The hourly rate for dental treatment in relation to general price and salary changes in Norway has changed in the period from 1979 to 1988. The results of the present study show that the increase of the hourly rate from 1983 has been less than for the consumer price index, and less than for the index for the average industrial worker's salary. The real price index for dental treatment in 1988 was 87.6. The relationship between the index for the average industrial worker's salary and the nominal price index for dental treatment was 80.5. It is concluded that dental treatment has become cheaper in Norway during the 1980's. The negotiations for dentists' hourly rate cannot be evaluated from these results without taking other factors into consideration.