ACCESSIBILITY OF DENTAL SERVICES ACCORDING TO FAMILY INCOME IN A NON-INSURED POPULATION

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of family income on ac cessibility to dental services among adults in Norway. The analysis wa s performed on a set of national data collected in 1989, which was rep resentative of the non-institutionalized Norwegian population aged 20 years and above. The sample size was 1200 individuals. The data were a nalyzed according to a two-part model. The first part determined the p robability of whether the consumer had demanded the services or not du ring the last year according to family income. The second part estimat ed how the amount of services utilized depended on family income, for those with demand. The elasticity of the odds of having demanded the s ervices with respect to family income was 0.48. Family income had no e ffect on the amount of services utilized. Additional analyses also sho wed that there was no effect of family income on the probability of ha ving received a filling or a crown when visiting the dentist. In Norwa y, almost all costs for dental services are paid by the consumer. It i s not possible from the data alone to say whether subsidized dental ca re is an effective way of reducing the inequalities in demand.