Appropriate preventive dental care has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalization and treatment for patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
A research team at the Mayo Clinic, a general hospital in the United States, announced that this was the result of investigating the relationship between preventive dental care and the cost of medical expenses for diabetes and coronary artery disease patients.
The Mayo Clinic was selected as the world’s number one hospital in the ‘2022 World’s Best Hospitals’ by Newsweek, a US current affairs week.
The researchers examined and analyzed the medical records of 11,734 adult patients enrolled in an Arkansas commercial health care plan that guarantees integrated preventive dental care.
These patients were continuously enrolled in a health plan for at least one year from 2014 to 2018 and had diabetes or coronary artery disease, or both. Diabetes causes numerous complications such as myocardial infarction, diabetic foot, and retinal hemorrhage, and coronary artery disease causes myocardial infarction (heart attack) and angina pectoris.
The research team focused on patients who were enrolled continuously for four to five years. In addition, the medical expenses of patients who visited a preventive dentistry at least once a year during the registration year and received treatment were compared with those of patients who did not receive preventive dentistry at all.
Preventive dental care includes regular check-ups, scaling, and non-surgical periodontal treatment. Medical expenses were calculated as total bills for inpatient, outpatient and prescription drugs.
The research team calculated the average annual medical cost that patients who received preventive dental treatment at least once a year would save compared to patients who did not receive treatment at all.
As a result, diabetic patients who received preventive dental care at least once a year spent an average of $549 less per year on medical expenses than diabetic patients who did not. In addition, patients with coronary artery disease who received preventive dental care at least once a year spent an average of $548 less on medical expenses per year than patients with coronary artery disease who did not.
In addition, patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease who received preventive dental treatment at least once a year (patients with both diseases) spent an average of $866 less on medical expenses per year than patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease who did not receive dental treatment at least once a year.
“It is not difficult to conclude that good oral health habits will be beneficial to the health of people with chronic diseases,” said Dr. Bizan Bora of the Mayo Clinic, lead author of the study.
Oral health is one of the important factors for overall health. However, little is known regarding the health effects of preventive dental care.
The results of this study (Association Between Preventive Dental Care and Healthcare Cost for Enrollees With Diabetes or Coronary Artery Disease: 5-Year Experience) were published in the ≪Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry≫, and the American health and medical media ‘ Introduced by MedicalXpress.
By Kim Young-seop, staff reporter [email protected]
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