title: Dental insurance visits and expenditures among older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the effect of age, income, and coverage on dental service utilization during 1996.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Edentulous and poorer older adults are less likely to have coverage and less likely to report a dental visit than dentate or wealthier older adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These analyses help to describe the needs of older adults as they cope with diminishing resources as a consequence of retirement, including persons previously accustomed to accessing oral health services with dental insurance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Policy, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, 666 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. manski@dental.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Manski
authors.forename: Harold S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Britt C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Macek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016321:Dental Care for Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009909:Oral Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States