Methodological Considerations in the Analysis of Cost Effectiveness in Dentistry

Cost-effectiveness analysis is a technique applied with increasing frequency to help make rational decisions in health care resource allocation. This article reviews the ten general principles of cost-effectiveness analysis outlined by the Office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress and describes a model for such analyses used widely in medicine, but only recently applied in dentistry. The imperative for the formulation of the best current information on both the effectiveness of dental practices and their costs is made more urgent because of the now universally recognized belief that resources available to meet the demands for health care are limited. Today's environment requires critical allocation decisions within categorical health problems, across diseases, or relative to other health problems. If important health benefits or cost savings are to be realized, then these analytic approaches must become widely understood, accepted, and appropriately applied by key decision makers in the dental health sector.