The funding of dental services among U.S. adults aged 18 years and older: recent trends in expenditures and sources of funding.
BACKGROUND
This article is the second in a series of two that focus on recent changes in the funding of dental services in the United States.


METHODS
This study is based on the analyses of data regarding dental expenditures among adults aged 18 years and older from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey and the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Both of these surveys were designed to produce national estimates of annual medical expenditures in the United States.


RESULTS
Overall, real per-patient dental expenditures among adults aged 18 years and older who had had a dental visit fell from $529.93 in 1987 to $467.29 in 1996.


CONCLUSIONS
Recent decreases in dental expenditures may be related to a shift from restorative to diagnostic and preventive services.


CONCLUSIONS
In the future, dentists' gross revenues may grow more from an increase in the number of patients seen than from an increase in the average revenue per patient.
Brown
L Jackson
LJ
Health Policy Resources Center, American Dental Association, Chicago, Ill 60611, USA. brownja@ada.org
Wall
Thomas P
TP
Manski
Richard J
RJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005382:Financing, Personal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017664:Uncompensated Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States