A comparison of dental care expenditures and office-based medical care expenditures, 1987

Background. This article compares national estimates of utilization of and expenditures for dental care and office-based medical care. The comparison includes respondents in several socioeconomic and demographic categories. Methods. The focus of the analyses is on dental care and office-based medic al care utilization during 1987. Specifically, the authors provide national estimates for numbers of dental and office-based medical visits made, expe nditures for and sources of payment for each of several socioeconomic and d emographic categories using household survey data from the 1987 National Me dical Expenditure Survey, or NMES. Results. Data show that out-of-pocket expenditures are greater for dental c are than for office-based medical care; that few Medicaid dollars are spent on dental care; that insurance is an important component of dental and off ice-based medical care;and that dentists provide greater amounts of unreimb ursed care than do their office-based physician counterparts. Conclusions. NMES data show that dental care expenditures are considerable, almost as large as expenditures for office-based medical care, and are a s ignificant component of all nonhospital health care expenditures for nonins titutionalized Americans. Practice Implications. U.S. dentists provide a significant amount of care. By understanding these analyses, practitioners will be better positioned to provide care and to better meet the dental needs of all Americans.