A macroeconomic review of dentistry in the 1980s

Dental expenditures in Canada receive less attention than other expenditures in the health care sector. Using publicly-available records, the authors have shown that the overall expenditures on dental care rose from $1.3 billion to $3.1 billion during the 1980s, or from $54.35 per person to $117.78 per person. Inflation and population growth would account for about 64 per cent of the increase, and the balance ($650 million) would therefore result from more services being provided. Per capita dental expenditures by province and territory show that people in the territory purchase the least care ($33.01 per person in 1989) and those in British Columbia purchase the most care ($145.54 per person in 1989). Even though some costs are not included in the data sources used for this paper, the direct costs of preventing and treating dental diseases ranks third among all diseases or conditions, exceeded only by the costs related to cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders.