Statistical Research, Health Policy Resources Center, American Dental Association, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
J Dent Educ. 2012 Aug;76(8):1020-7.
The authors examined trends in the utilization of oral health services in the United States from 1997 to 2010, including breakdowns by age and poverty level. They examined trends in one major driver of utilization: insurance coverage. The results suggest that the recent economic downturn did not result in an overall decrease in the utilization of dental services. Rather, the findings suggest an earlier decline from 2003 to 2008. In this article, the authors report that the overall trend masked significant variation by age and poverty level. Among children, there was steady growth in utilization from 1997 to 2010. This appears to have coincided with a shift away from private insurance toward public coverage and a significant drop in the percentage of uninsured children. Among non-elderly adults, however, utilization has been falling steadily since 1997 among all but the wealthiest income group. During the great recession from December 2007 to June 2009, the decline in utilization accelerated among those in the lowest income group. The decrease in adult utilization appears related to a decrease in private insurance coverage and an increase in public coverage and noninsured rates. As a consequence of these trends in coverage, the authors predict a continued decline in the utilization of dental services among non-elderly adults.
作者检查了从 1997 年到 2010 年美国口腔保健服务的使用趋势，包括按年龄和贫困水平的细分。他们检查了使用的一个主要驱动因素的趋势：保险覆盖范围。结果表明，最近的经济衰退并没有导致牙科服务的总体使用量下降。相反，调查结果表明，从 2003 年到 2008 年，这种情况更早出现。在本文中，作者报告说，整体趋势掩盖了年龄和贫困水平的显著差异。在儿童中，从 1997 年到 2010 年，利用率稳步增长。这似乎与从私人保险转向公共保险以及未参保儿童比例显著下降相吻合。然而，在非老年成年人中，自 1997 年以来，除了最富裕的收入群体之外，利用率一直在稳步下降。在 2007 年 12 月至 2009 年 6 月的大衰退期间，收入最低的群体的利用率下降速度加快。成人利用率的下降似乎与私人保险覆盖面的减少、公共保险和未参保率的增加有关。由于这些覆盖范围的趋势，作者预测非老年成年人的牙科服务利用率将继续下降。
