title: Government spending on dental care: is it a public priority?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The majority of Canadians believe that the government should play some role in providing dental care within Canada's health care system. However, it is unclear whether Canadians consider this as a top public priority. This study determines whether dental care is a public priority among Canadian adults relative to other policy concerns and identifies factors predictive of a first priority ranking for dental care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected in 2008 from a national random sample of 1,005 Canadian adults through a telephone interview survey. Respondents were asked to rank five spending priorities (dental care, pharmacare, home care, vision care, and child care) in terms of preferences for new government spending. Simple descriptive analyses were undertaken based on sociodemographic characteristics. Logistic regression modeling was conducted to determine which factors are predictive of a first priority ranking for dental care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparatively, dental care stands as the third choice among the other spending priority areas. Approximately 21 percent of adults consider dental care a first priority for spending. First priority ranking of dental care appears to be linked to socioeconomic factors: household income, educational attainment, and dental insurance coverage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As a public priority, a moderate level of demand exists for more government spending on dental care in Canada, specifically among those of low income, low educational attainment, and who lack dental insurance coverage. A sustained effort should be made to push forward public dental care policies that target priority population subgroups.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramji
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quiñonez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged