Patient treatment cost of oral diseases in Ghana.

OBJECTIVES

To estimate patient treatment cost of oral diseases in Ghana.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study design using cost-of-illness analysis was employed.

SETTING

The study was conducted at the dental unit of the University of Ghana Hospital, Legon.

PARTICIPANTS

About 185 patients attending the dental unit of the hospital were selected.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Direct medical and non-medical costs, indirect costs, and intangible costs of treatment of oral conditions.

RESULTS

The estimated average cost of treatment for oral diseases was US$ 35.75. The total cost was US$ 6,614.11, with the direct and indirect costs constituting 94.5% and 5.5%, respectively of the total cost. Direct medical costs constituted 86.9%, while direct non-medical costs constituted 13.1% of the total direct cost. The richer socio-economic group had the highest cost per quintile, with a mean of US$ 46.69. The intangible cost described was highest for pain (47.1%), followed by difficulty in eating (40.8%) and sleeping (34.6%) for both men and women.

CONCLUSION

The costs of oral diseases are huge and cannot be overlooked. Oral diseases also pose significant productivity losses to patients.

FUNDING

None declared.