title: Economic impact of dental service utilization by older adults.
abstract: A total of 747 general dental practitioners--in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, and Minnesota--responded to a questionnaire in 1988 by completing a detailed productivity report of patient services performed during a specified period. The results, based on 11,909 patient visits and 22,712 dental procedures, indicated that stereotypes of older adults as underutilizers of dental care are incorrect. This finding and others, detailed within this article, indicate that older adults make up a substantial portion of regular patients and that their utilization of dental services should increase throughout 1990.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Meskin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dillenberg
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Heft
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Martens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001130:Arizona; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003120:Colorado; D003237:Connecticut; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004468:Economics, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005431:Florida; D005850:Geriatric Dentistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D012086:Reoperation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires