Patients' willingness to pay for dental services in a population with limited restorative services.

OBJECTIVES: To determine and compare patients' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for tooth extraction and filling services in Tanzania and to assess the socio-demographic factors that are associated with such valuations. METHODS: Contingent valuation survey utilizing an open-ended willingness-to-pay format was administered among 1522 outpatients in four regional hospitals in Tanzania. WTP for extraction and tooth filling services for various tooth categories were determined and compared using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The association of WTP values with socio-demographic background factors was assessed using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean WTP amounts for tooth filling were Tanzania shillings (Tshs) 7,398 (3.4 US$) and Tshs 7,726 (3.5 US$) for anterior and posterior teeth respectively. The mean WTP for tooth filling services was lower than the average charged fees in dental facilities. The mean WTP amounts for tooth extraction were Tshs 5,448 (2.5 US$) and Tshs 6,188 (2.8 US$) for anterior and posterior teeth respectively. WTP amounts were shown to vary by age, income, outpatient status and previous experience with the dental services. Belonging in youngest age group (18-24 years) and having a high-income level was associated with increased odds for high WTP valuations irrespective of tooth and treatment types. CONCLUSIONS: WTP reveals a preference for tooth filling rather than extraction services in this population. More studies are needed to address the discrepancy between the stated preferences and utilization patterns for dental services.

Factors associated with subjective need for orthodontic treatment among Finnish university applicants.

Subjective orthodontic treatment need and associated factors were studied in a sample of 226 young Finnish adults. The subjects, applicants to enter the University of Helsinki, were interviewed immediately after their entrance examination. A need for treatment was felt by 14% of the subjects. For 47% of those expressing such a need their reason was appearance only, and for 25% it was both appearance and their ability to chew. Among subjects who reported a visible dental irregularity, 38% were dissatisfied with their dental appearance, and 25% felt the need for orthodontic treatment. Women were more often dissatisfied with their dentition than men. Subjective need for treatment was significantly associated with perceived visible dental irregularity and infrequent socializing but not with orthodontic treatment in childhood, pattern of dental attendance, or district of residence. Of various perceptions of anterior teeth, irregularly and wrongly positioned teeth were most often connected with treatment need.

Subjective orthodontic treatment need and perceived dental appearance among young Finnish adults with and without previous orthodontic treatment.

Subjective orthodontic treatment need and perceived oral condition were studied in a sample of 226 young adult Finns with and without previous orthodontic treatment. The subjects, applicants to enter the University of Helsinki, were interviewed immediately after their entrance examination. Altogether 38.5 per cent of the subjects had received some form of orthodontic treatment. A higher percentage of subjects who had been orthodontically treated reported a current subjective need for treatment than did the untreated ones but this only reached statistical significance in men (P < 0.05). Appearance was the reason for the treatment need among 64.7 per cent of treated and among 80.0 per cent of untreated subjects. The differences in proportions were non-significant. Men were more often satisfied with their dentition than women. Most, 56.3 per cent of treated and 66.2 per cent of untreated subjects, considered their anterior teeth regularly positioned. The most prevalent type of malocclusion noted in the anterior segments was crowding (27.0 per cent), followed by malpositioned (18.6 per cent) and protruding (9.3 per cent) teeth. It is likely that those who had received orthodontic treatment, had initially had more, and more severe malocclusions than those who were untreated. Thus, it may be that orthodontic treatment had raised the perceptions of the dentition of the treated individuals to the same level as the untreated individuals.

Tooth surface loss and exposure to organic and inorganic acid fumes in workplace air.

The effect of inorganic and organic acid fumes on teeth was explored in a cross-sectional study using blind dental examinations. A sample of 180 workers from two factories was randomly drawn. Among the 169 workers who participated in the survey, 88 were exposed to acid fumes and 81 were controls. The percentage of inorganic acid workers with tooth surface loss was 63.2%, while that for the controls was 37.7% (P less than 0.005). The corresponding figures in the organic acid company were 50.0% and 14.3% (P less than 0.02). In both companies the acid workers had significantly more often teeth with surface loss in the maxilla than their controls (P less than 0.02). Both anteriors and posteriors were affected. On the basis of the findings. it can be concluded that acid fumes at work are strongly associated with tooth surface loss.