Safety Net Care and Midlevel Dental Practitioners: A Case Study of the Portion of Care That Might Be Performed Under Various Setting and Scope-of-Practice Assumptions.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the proportion of dental care provided at safety net-type clinics that might be performed by midlevel practitioners. METHODS: Data were obtained on 157,328 procedures performed in 2012 at the clinics associated with a Midwestern dental school. Based on procedure codes, we determined the overall proportion, as well as the proportion of visits and patients' care, that could have been performed by 3 types of practitioners. RESULTS: Overall, 48% to 66% of all procedures could have been performed by a midlevel dental practitioner. Nearly half of all visits, and roughly a third of all patients, could have been entirely cared for by a practitioner trained in prophylaxis and with evaluation capabilities. Such practitioners could handle roughly 80% of the visits at the community-based clinic and more than half of the visits at the hospital-based clinic. CONCLUSIONS: A midlevel practitioner with training in prophylaxis has the potential to alleviate much of the burden on the dental safety net because much of the need among vulnerable populations falls well within their scope of practice.

Sorry doctor, I can't afford the root canal, I have a job: Canadian dental care policy and the working poor.

BACKGROUND: In Canada, most dental care is privately financed through employment-based insurance, with only a small amount of care supported by governments for groups deemed in social need. Recently, this low level of public financing has been linked to problems in accessing dental care, and one group that has received major attention are the working poor (WP), or those who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty. The WP highlight a significant gap in Canadian dental care policy, as they are generally not eligible for either public or private insurance. METHODS: This is a mixed methods study, comprised of an historical review of Canadian dental care policy and a telephone interview survey of WP Canadian adults. RESULTS: By its very definitions, Canadian dental care policy recognizes the WP as persons with employment, yet incorrectly assumes that they will have ready access to employment-based insurance. In addition, through historically developed biases, it also fails to recognize them as persons in social need. Our telephone survey suggests that this policy approach has important impacts in that oral health and dental care outcomes are significantly mitigated by the presence of dental insurance. DISCUSSION: Canadian dental care policy should be reassessed in terms of how it determines need in order to close a gap that holds negative consequences for many Canadian families.

Dental expenditures by selected dentist and practice characteristics.

Total estimated dental expenditures in 1995 were approximately $47.6 billion as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, or BEA. According to the Health Care Financing Administration, or HCFA, the total estimated dental expenditures in 1995 were approximately $44.7 billion. Using the reported gross billings from the annual ADA "Survey of Dental Practice," the authors estimated that the total national dental expenditures in 1995 were about $45.5 billion. As this estimate falls between the BEA- and HCFA-estimated total dental expenditures, it is one confirmation of the reliability and validity of ADA's estimates. This estimate also can be used to look at dental expenditures by selected characteristics--such as specialty, office time and number of dentists in the practice.

Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); TRICARE Dental Program. Office of the Secretary, DoD. Final rule.

This final rule revises the comprehensive CHAMPUS regulation pertaining to the Expanded Active Duty Dependents Benefit Plan, or more commonly referred to as the TRICARE Family Member Dental Plan (TFMDP). The TFMDP limited eligibility to eligible dependents of active duty members (under a call or order that does not specify a period of thirty (30) day or less). Concurrent with the timeframe of the publication of the proposed rule, the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65, sec. 711) was signed into law and its provisions have been incorporated into this final rule. The Act authorized a new plan, titled the TRICARE dental program (TDP), which allows the Secretary of Defense to offer a comprehensive premium based indemnity dental insurance coverage plan to eligible dependents of active duty members (under a call or order that does not specify a period of thirty (30) days or less), eligible dependents of members of the Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve, and eligible members of the Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve. The Act also struck section 1076b (Selected Reserve dental insurance), or Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, since the affected population and the authority for that particular dental insurance plan has been incorporated in 10 U.S.C. 1076a. Consistent with the proposed rule and the provisions of the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, the final rule places the responsibility for TDP enrollment and a large portion of the appeals program on the dental plan contractor; allows the dental plan contractor to bill beneficiaries for plan premiums in certain circumstances; reduces the former TFMDP enrollment period from twenty-four (24) to twelve (12) months; excludes Reserve component members ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation from the mandatory twelve (12) month enrollment; clarifies dental plan requirements for different beneficiary populations; simplifies enrollment types and exceptions; reduces cost-shares for certain enlisted grades; adds anesthesia as a covered benefit; provides clarification on the Department's use of the Congressional waiver for surviving dependents; incorporates legislative authority for calculating the method by which premiums may be raised and allowing premium reductions for certain enlisted grades; and reduces administrative burden by reducing redundant language, referencing language appearing in other CFR sections and removing language more appropriate to the actual contract. These improvements will provide Uniformed Service members and families with numerous quality of life benefits that will improve participation in the plan, significantly reduce enrollment errors and positively effect utilization of this important dental plan. The proposed rule was titled the "TRICARE Family Member Dental Plan".

Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); expanded active duty dependents dental benefit plan--DoD. Final rule.

The rule establishes an expanded dental program for dependents of active duty members of the Uniformed Services. The amendment specifically describes: the legislative authority for expansion of dental benefits outside the United States; the continuation of dental benefits for active duty survivors; eligibility for pre-adoptive wards; the enhanced benefit structure; enrollment and eligibility requirements; premium cost-sharing; and benefit payment levels. The provisions of this rule will provide military families with the high quality of care they desire at an affordable price.

Dental insurance: a purchaser perspective.

Principals in a dental health purchasing organization report their views and those of interviewed purchasers on dental insurance packages. Purchasers make their decisions in a market context, balancing cost with employee benefits needed to attract qualified employees. While having a dental plan is important, the financial and coverage details are not usually scrutinized by employees. Issues of access and freedom from hassle are important considerations. There is growing cynicism among purchasers that dentists are driven by a profit motive and a desire for attractive work hours.

Les Schwab tire centers leads the way in dental insurance.

A family-owned retail tire company has a successful history with direct reimbursement for dental and other health care benefits. Although there is a co-pay and some elective services are not covered, employees are not asked to fund insurance premiums and freedom of choice with regard to provider is ensured. This approach is grounded in the family orientation of the company.

Per capita remuneration of dentists and the quality of dental services.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a per capita based remuneration system on the quality of dental care. METHODS: The basis for the study was a natural experiment in the county of Østfold in Norway in which all public dental officers (n = 34) were given the opportunity to renegotiate their contract from a fixed salary to a combined per capita and fixed salary contract. Quality was assessed according to three criteria: number of preventive procedures, number of under-diagnosed carious lesions and number of untreated carious lesions. This information was selected from a random sample of patient records for 18-year-olds in the autumn of 1999 (base-line data) and at the end of 2006 (final data), altogether 20 records per dentist. At the end of the period of evaluation, 26 dentists were still eligible for inclusion in the study. The data were analysed both descriptively and using multilevel difference-in-difference regression models. RESULTS: The main finding was that the transition to a per capita remuneration system did not lead to under-diagnosis of carious lesions, under-treatment or less prevention. CONCLUSIONS: A per capita remuneration scheme did not lead to a fall in the quality of dental care. This result must be assessed taking into account that the experiment was carried out within a publicly financed and managed dental service. Also, the incentive effect of the per capita contract was relatively weak.