Cost of Dental Infection Control: Standard Guidelines and Survey Responses From Korean Dental Practice

The purpose of this study was to estimate the cost of Dental Infection Control (DIC) according to the standard protocol developed by the Korea Dental Association (KDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to compare it with the DIC cost of some real dental practices in Korea.

Based on a standard protocol, we calculated the number of consumables, time required, and labor costs for DIC. Additionally, the costs incurred per patient per treatment were calculated for dental practice based on a survey questionnaire.

The cost of DIC according to the standard protocol was higher than the average cost incurred by dental practices responding to this study. The highest cost of treatment was oral surgery (16,539 KRW, 13.75 USD) and treatments with descending order of costs incurred are, periodontal surgery, endodontic treatment, filling, scaling, examination, and intraoral radiography. For invasive procedures, the calculated cost is higher than that of other treatments, because of the need for surgical protective gear.

The DIC cost based on the standard protocol was higher than that incurred by the dental practice surveyed. DIC is essential for patients and dental staff, and to reduce the difference between the DIC cost incurred by dental practice and dental infection cost according to standard protocols, it is important for dental staff to have the right perception and an active attitude toward infection control. Additionally, a realistic and systematic policy for DIC should be established to enable dental practices to implement it effectively.