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What is the societal economic cost of poor oral health among older adults in the United States? A scoping review
Author(s) -
Huang Shulamite S.,
VeitzKeenan Analia,
McGowan Richard,
Niederman Richard
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
gerodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1741-2358
pISSN - 0734-0664
DOI - 10.1111/ger.12548
Subject(s) - medicine , economic cost , gerontology , tooth loss , disease , oral health , health care , population , health economics , environmental health , public health , family medicine , nursing , economic growth , neoclassical economics , pathology , economics
Objective To assess the state of the literature in the United States quantifying the societal economic cost of poor oral health among older adults. Background Proponents of a Medicare dental benefit have argued that addressing the growing need for dental care among the US older adult population will decrease costs from systemic disease and other economic costs due to oral disease. However, it is unclear what the current economic burden of poor oral health among older adults is in the United States. Methods We conducted a scoping review examining the cost of poor oral health among older adults and identified cost components that were included in relevant studies. Results Other than oral cancer, no studies were found examining the economic costs of poor oral health among older adults (untreated tooth decay, gum disease, tooth loss and chronic disease/s). Only two studies examining the costs of oral cancer were found, but these studies did not assess the full economic cost of oral cancer from patient, insurer and societal perspectives. Conclusions Future work is needed to assess the full economic burden of poor oral health among older adults in the United States, and should leverage novel linkages between medical claims data, dental claims data and oral health outcomes data.