title: How often should a preventive procedure be repeated? An economic analytic model applied to dentistry.
abstract: Operation research techniques have successfully been applied to economical order situations. An Economical Recall System (ERS) model, based on this theory, is proposed for curative and preventive dental care. The ERS model assumes a preventive procedure with no lead time between application and initiation of effect, an immediate decline in morbidity level once the effect is initiated, and linear increasing rate of morbidity. The model also assumes a positive net present value of the prevention program and therefore the question approached is the optimal time sequence at minimal cost. The model supplies a valuable tool for analyzing the effect of the curative, preventive and administrative components of a program and how changes in each, or any combination, of these variables will affect the end results.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Tzukert
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Sgan-Cohen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Call
mesh_terms: D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005460:Fluorides, Topical / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012008:Recurrence; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005460:Fluorides, Topical