Dental care utilization and retirement.
OBJECTIVE
The authors examine the relationship of dental care coverage, retirement, and utilization in an aging population using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).


METHODS
The authors estimate dental care use as a function of dental care coverage status, retirement, and individual and household characteristics. They also estimate a multivariate model controlling for potentially confounding variables.


RESULTS
The authors show that that the loss of income and dental coverage associated with retirement may lead to lower use rates but this effect may be offset by other unobserved aspects of retirement including more available free time leading to an overall higher use rate.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors conclude from this study that full retirement accompanied by reduced income and dental insurance coverage produces lower utilization of dental services. However, they also show that retirement acts as an independent variable, whereas income, coverage, and free time (unobserved) act as intervening variables.
Manski
Richard J
RJ
Division of Health Services Research, Department of Health Promotion and Policy, Dental School, University of Maryland, 650 West Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. rmanski@umaryland.edu
Moeller
John
J
Chen
Haiyan
H
St Clair
Patricia A
PA
Schimmel
Jody
J
Magder
Larry
L
Pepper
John V
JV
D000368:Aged; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007899:Leisure Activities; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012179:Retirement / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States