Patterns and factors associated with dental service utilization among insured people: a data mining approach

Insurance databases contain valuable information related to the use of dental services. This data is instrumental in decision-making processes, enhancing risk assessment, and predicting outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify patterns and factors influencing the utilization of dental services among complementary insured individuals, employing a data mining methodology.

A secondary data analysis was conducted using a dental insurance dataset from Iran in 2022. The Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) was employed as a data mining approach for knowledge extraction from the database. The utilization of dental services was the outcome of interest, and independent variables were chosen based on the available information in the insurance dataset. Dental services were categorized into nine groups: diagnostic, preventive, periodontal, restorative, endodontic, prosthetic, implant, extraction/surgical, and orthodontic procedures. The independent variables included age, gender, family size, insurance history, franchise, insurance limit, and policyholder. A multinomial logistic regression model was utilized to investigate the factors associated with dental care utilization. All analyses were conducted using RapidMiner Version 2020.

The analysis encompassed a total of 654,418 records, corresponding to 118,268 insured individuals. Predominantly, restorative treatments were the most utilized services, accounting for approximately 38% of all services, followed by diagnostic (18.35%) and endodontic (13.3%) care. Individuals aged between 36 and 60 years had the highest rate of utilization for any dental services. Additionally, families comprising three to four members, individuals with a one-year insurance history, people contracted with a 20% franchise, individuals with a high insurance limit, and insured individuals with a small policyholder, exhibited the highest rate of service usage compared to their counterparts. The regression model revealed that all independent variables were significantly associated with the use of dental services. However, the patterns of association varied among different service categories.

Restorative treatments emerged as the most frequently used dental services among insured individuals, followed by diagnostic and endodontic procedures. The pattern of service utilization was influenced by the characteristics of the insured individuals and attributes related to their insurance.