AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 85, Issue 10 1408-1411, Copyright © 1995 by American Public Health Association

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lewis, D W
Right arrow Articles by Thompson, G W
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lewis, D W
Right arrow Articles by Thompson, G W
Alberta's universal dental plan for the elderly: differences in use over 6 years by two cohorts.

D W Lewis and G W Thompson

Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVES. Dental services use by two cohorts under the universal dental plan for the elderly in Alberta, Canada, was examined. METHODS. Two birth cohorts 65 to 69 years old at entry who used the plan from 1978 to 1979 (n = 17,816) or from 1985 to 1986 (n = 27,474) were analyzed over 6 successive years for differences in dental services use and costs. RESULTS. The 1985/86 cohort received 24% more visits per patient than the 1978/79 cohort. Their inflation-adjusted expenditures increased by 19% mainly as a result of increases in denturists' expenditures (33%) (dentists' expenditures increased just 4% because of lower plan fee increases). The 1985/86 cohort received relatively many more periodontal and fewer denture services. Annual attendance over 6 consecutive years was high, especially for the 1985/86 cohort and dentists' patients; 55% of the 1985/86 cohort who used dentists did so in 5 or all 6 years. CONCLUSIONS. Differences in plan expenditures per patient between the birth cohorts and dentists and denturists, along with the high continuity of care for dentists' patients, have important implications for planning and administering dental plans for the elderly. The large expenditure decreases for removable dentures and the large increases for periodontal services to the 1985/86 cohort are noteworthy.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1995 by the American Public Health Association