Impact of sending vouchers for a community-based oral screening program on dental service usage promotion among adults: a difference-in-difference analysis.

BACKGROUND

Community- and evidence-based approaches are essential for improving dental public health. We evaluated the effectiveness of sending vouchers in a community-based oral screening program to encourage dental visits and improve oral health among adults.

METHODS

We analyzed the data from April 2014 to March 2019 obtained from administrative claims and screening program databases in Tsukuba City, Japan. This longitudinal observational study utilized the difference-in-difference approach to evaluate the impact of the screening program on dental service use. The exposure group, which comprised residents aged 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 years who were eligible for the screening program and had received dental check-up vouchers, was compared with an age-matched control group, which comprised individuals aged ± 2 years. Dental service use was evaluated in terms of (1) whether monthly dental visits occurred, (2) the number of dental visits per person, and (3) the total monthly dental expenditure.

RESULTS

Data were obtained from 43,438 residents (14,392 and 29,046 in the exposure and control groups, respectively). The program positively affected the likelihood of attending a dental visit (adjusted risk ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.07) and the overall monthly expenditure on dental services (adjusted mean ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.03-1.03).

CONCLUSIONS

The oral screening program slightly increased dental service use among adults in Japan. The findings enable evidence-based policy-making on the improvement of the population-level oral health status.