The Demand for Dental Care

Using data from a randomized trial in health insurance, this report examines the effect of cost sharing on use of dental services other than orthodontia. The data come from a nonaged, noninstitutionalized civilian population of four urban and two rural sites. The authors reach two major conclusions: (1) Reducing the level of cost sharing increases demand for dental services; dental expenses rise 46 percent when the coinsurance rate falls from 95 percent to 0 percent, subject to a catastrophic limit on out-of-pocket expenses. (2) Increased income affects dental visits differently than dental expenditures; lower-income individuals tend to have more expensive visits than high-income individuals.