title: Baseline characteristics and treatment preferences of oral surgery patients.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Atchison
authors.forename: Melanie W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Gironda
authors.forename: Edward E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schweitzer
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Der-Martirosian
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Felsenfeld
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leathers
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Belin
mesh_terms: 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