Baseline characteristics and treatment preferences of oral surgery patients.
OBJECTIVE
Patient preferences for treatment choices may depend on patient characteristics. Using standard gamble (SG) and willingness to pay (WTP), this study compares preferences for treatment of mandibular fracture among patients in a low-income urban area.


METHODS
Surveys of African-American and Hispanic adults receiving treatment at King/Drew Medical Center for either mandibular fracture (n = 98) or third molar removal (n = 105) were used to investigate differences in patient characteristics across treatment groups (third molar vs fracture) and treatment preference (wiring vs surgery).


RESULTS
The fracture patients were willing to pay more to restore function without scarring or nerve damage than were the third molar patients. Patients who chose surgery were willing to accept a greater risk of possible nerve damage or scarring than those who chose wiring. Among 15 potential predictors of SG and WTP studied in 4 subgroups defined by actual treatment and treatment preference, significant predictors varied, with associations for education and clinical experience for SG and associations with income and psychosocial predictors for WTP.


CONCLUSIONS
SG and WTP capture different domains of health values in patients. There is considerable heterogeneity in relationships among patient characteristics and patient preferences across subgroups defined by actual treatment and treatment preferences.
Atchison
Kathryn A
KA
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Gironda
Melanie W
MW
Black
Edward E
EE
Schweitzer
Stuart
S
Der-Martirosian
Claudia
C
Felsenfeld
Alan
A
Leathers
Richard
R
Belin
Thomas R
TR
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000367:Age Factors; D001864:Bone Wires; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population