The effectiveness of public dental care programs

This paper presents a cost-benefit analysis of public dental care programs in the United States. Using the cost of an artificial "bridge" as an estimate of the benefit of saving a tooth and the costs of periodic examinations and dental treatment as cost measures, the costs and benefits of two such programs are estimated. Changes are made in key variables to determine how cost and benefit estimates would be affected. The major conclusion is that public dental care programs must be administered over a relatively long time span before net benefits accrue on an annual basis. The study concludes with a discussion of the policy implications.