How do dental practices respond to changes in scope of practice regulations?

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Dental Practice Management
• Economics

Background:

• Occupational regulations, specifically scope of practice laws, dictate the services healthcare professionals can offer.
• These regulations can influence healthcare firm behavior, including service provision, patient mix, and operational efficiency.
• Understanding the impact of regulatory changes is crucial for healthcare policy and practice management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the effects of state-level scope of practice regulations on dental practice behavior.
• To assess how deregulation, particularly concerning dental hygienists' expanded roles, impacts practice operations and patient care.
• To provide empirical evidence on the consequences of regulatory flexibility in dental settings.

Main Methods:

• Utilized longitudinal dental practice survey data spanning from 1989 to 2014.
• Employed a stacked difference-in-differences research design to analyze the impact of state-specific regulatory changes.
• Focused on deregulation related to dental hygienists administering nitrous oxide and local anesthesia.

Main Results:

• Scope of practice deregulation was associated with a short-term decrease in weekly dentist visits.
• Deregulation correlated with reduced patient wait times.
• Practices showed an increased likelihood of serving lower-revenue, publicly insured patients following deregulation.
• Evidence regarding changes in labor inputs due to deregulation was weak.

Conclusions:

• Scope of practice deregulation for dental hygienists can shift practice dynamics, potentially improving access for certain patient populations.
• While short-term decreases in dentist visits were observed, other positive outcomes like reduced wait times and increased public insurance patient care emerged.
• Regulatory flexibility in dental professions may lead to significant practice adjustments and affect market service areas.