Assessment of Oral Health Care-Related Expenditure among People of Kerala: A Cross-Sectional Study

Oral health is an effective unit of general health. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are considered to be the major diseases present in modern times. Over the decades, the idea of maintaining effective oral health and interest in oral health prevention measures has diminished; thus increasing the cost of health care.

This study aims to estimate the household expenditure on oral health care among people residing in Kerala, India.

Five hundred participants were surveyed who were residents of Kerala. A self-administered questionnaire that was tested and validated was used to assess the cost of oral health care. Data collected were analyzed using software for IBM SPSS version 23 for Windows (New York, USA).

Of 500 people, 37% are men and 63% are women. 100% of people reported using a toothbrush as an oral hygiene aid. 65% of households reported changing toothbrush for 3 months or more, while 35% of families changed for 1 month or less. Significant statistically weak correlation was observed when education, employment, and income were compared to the annual expenditure on dental care. Furthermore, there has been a moderately strong correlation observed between the socio-economic status of families and the annual cost of dental care.

People should be aware of preventive oral hygiene aids, and appropriate policies should be formulated which will ultimately result in decreased expenditure on a curative aspect of the dental disease.