title: The economics of dentistry: a neglected concern.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Demand for economic evaluations in health care is growing with expectations that they will help to develop regional and national policies on health and social programmes. We present here the scope, quality and content of systematic reviews and meta-analyses relating to the economics of dentistry published over the last 15 years.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To review the quality and outcome of systematic reviews and meta-analyses relating to the economics of dental treatments, preventions and services.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search was conducted in 14 electronic databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between January 1997 and July 2011 on the economics of oral disorders and oral health care. Review papers were extracted by two independent investigators to identify the characteristics, results and quality of the reviews and to highlight gaps in knowledge about the economics of dentistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 3150 unique references, we found 73 systematic reviews or meta-analyses of dental economics as primary or secondary outcomes. The focus of 12 of them was on the cost or cost-effectiveness of dental prevention, 54 on treatment, five on prevention and treatment and two on delivery of dental services. However, only 12 of the systematic reviews drew conclusions from economic data, and four of them constructed an economic model from synthesized data. Overall, the quality was good in the 12 systematic reviews but poor in the original studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is very little helpful data published on the economics of dentistry.
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Sciences Department, Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Batoul
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shariati
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: MacEntee
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yazdizadeh
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004468:Economics, Dental; D006801:Humans
keywords: dental economics; dentistry; economic evaluation; oral healthcare; systematic review