PURPOSE:
The purpose of this
retrospective study was to investigate the relationships of types of
dental insurance coverage in
Korea with sociodemographic characteristics and the
prevalence of systemic and oral
diseases, as well as to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of Korean
dental insurance policies.
METHODS:
Sample cohort data from 2006 to 2015 were obtained from the
National Health Insurance Service.
Patients were divided into 2 groups. The exposed group comprised
patients who received
insurance benefits for
complete dentures,
removable partial dentures, and implant care, while the
control group comprised
patients who did not receive these benefits. The type of
insurance coverage and the
prevalence of systemic and oral
diseases were compared between the 2 groups.
RESULTS:
Patients who received benefits in the form of
complete dentures,
removable partial dentures, and implants had
similar sociodemographic characteristics in terms of
sex, age,
income quintile, and type of
insurance coverage to the
control group. The
prevalence of
hypertension,
anemia, renal
disease,
rheumatoid arthritis,
osteoporosis,
asthma, and
cerebral infarction was higher in the exposed group than in the
control group (P<0.05). The
prevalence of
periodontal diseases and
dental caries was also higher in the exposed group.
CONCLUSIONS:
Korean dental
health insurance policy has been beneficial for the medical expenses of low-
income and
elderly people suffering from a
cost burden due to systemic
diseases. However, since there is a tendency to avoid invasive interventions in older
patients due to the high
risk of systemic
diseases,
insurance coverage of
dentures may be more helpful from a socioeconomic perspective than coverage of
dental implant treatments.