March 2021

Volume 38, Issue 1

Cost Benefit Analysis of Two Oral health Improvement Programmes

Authors: Jessica Mann Mill Doshi Léa Quentin Kenneth Eaton Luke Morton-Holtham
doi: 10.1922/CDH_001012020Mann07

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health is frequently given a low priority when healthcare funds are allocated to new initiatives. One method to highlight the health and social benefits of new oral health initiatives is to use cost benefit analysis to show their value. Aim: To demonstrate how Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) has been applied to two recent oral health initiatives to evaluate their ability to reduce costs and improve the quality of life. Methods: CBA was applied to the Mouth Care Matters project in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and the Senior Smiles project improving oral health in residential homes in Australia. Results: Over a five-year period, the Mouth Care Matters project would generate £2.66 in cost savings, within the healthcare system, for every £1 spent. Over a three year period the Senior Smiles project would generate a cost saving for the healthcare system of $3.14 for every $1 spent. These evaluations were instrumental to enable a national rollout for Mouth Care Matters and a public endorsement of the programme for Senior Smiles. Conclusions: Health economics can be a useful tool in aiding care organisations to assess the implications of decisions to spend limited resources in particular areas of healthcare over others. Keywords: Oral health, health expenditures, Economics, Health resources, Cost Benefits Analysis

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Other articles in this issue

Article Pages Access
Acknowledgement of Reviewers 2-2 Download
Editorial: Migrant and refugee Oral Health 3-4 Download
Dental public health in action: foundation dentists’ delivery of an oral health promotion outreach project for people experiencing homelessness in London 5-9 Download
Characteristics of teenagers who use dental floss 10-14 Download
Evaluating the environmental impact of the Welsh national childhood oral health improvement programme, Designed to Smile 15-20 Download
Concurrent heavy use of general and oral health services among Finnish adults 21-25 Download
Cost Benefit Analysis of Two Oral health Improvement Programmes 26-32 Download
Is the Performance of a Periodontal Prediction Model for Identification of Diabetes affected by Participants’ Characteristics? 33-38 Download
Impact of the national program More Smiles for Chile on women’s quality of life 39-43 Download
Neoliberalism and Indigenous oral health inequalities: a global perspective 44-47 Download
Oral Health of African Immigrants: A participatory approach to needs assessment 48-52 Download
Oral health status and risk determinants in adult Syrian refugees in Jordan 53-58 Download
Subjective and objective social status: associations with psychosocial predictors and oral health 59-63 Download
John Roberts Obituary 64-64 Download

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