Oral health care spending in the United States

Investigators may have uncovered the financial toll of oral health issues in the United States.

In a study published in JAMA, investigators examined 76.6% of personal health care spending and utilization that occurred across 3,110 U.S. counties and four payers — Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and out-of-pocket payments — between 2010 and 2019. The data included more than 40 billion insurance claims and about 1 billion facility records. The investigators sought to better understand the costs associated with oral conditions compared with other health conditions.

The investigators found that spending on oral diseases — $93 billion — fell between musculoskeletal diseases at $108.6 billion and ischemic heart disease at $80.7 billion.

The findings provided an opportunity to inform policies to reduce costs and enhance access to oral health care.

Read more: JAMA

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