Original Article

Estimation of lifetime dental expenditures for periodontitis

Yun-Jeong Kim1,*   Jung-Sook Kwang2   

Department of Hygiene, Kwangju Women’s University
1Department of Dental Hygiene, Mokpo Science College

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this paper was to estimate a South Korean’s lifetime dental expenditures for periodontitis. Methods: For our study, we collected data from the Korea Health Panel Survey (KHPS), from 2010 to 2016. The outpatient dental care data of 1,919,608 samples of periodontitis were extracted using R version 3.0 and estimations of lifetime dental expenditures for them were generated using Excel. Results: Over 50% of the lifetime dental expenditure of South Koreans was spent for periodontitis, and incurred after the age of 40. The results showed that an estimate of average per capita lifetime dental expenditure for men (approximately 13 million won) was greater than that for women (approximately 8.8 million won) for periodontitis. Conclusions: Efficient methods for the prevention and management of periodontitis are necessary, and a new paradigm of health care system is required to reduce dental expenditure through its prevention.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.Distribution of dental expenditures for periodontitis (male)