Is Accessing Dental Care Becoming More Difficult? Evidence from Canada's Middle-Income Population

Chantel Ramraj, Laleh Sadeghi, Herenia P Lawrence, Laura Dempster and Carlos Quiñonez

PLOS ONE, 2013, vol. 8, issue 2, 1-6

Abstract: Objective: To explore trends in access to dental care among middle-income Canadians. Methods: A secondary data analysis of six Canadian surveys that collected information on dental insurance coverage, cost-barriers to dental care, and out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care was conducted for select years from 1978 to 2009. Descriptive analyses were used to outline and compare trends among middle-income Canadians with other levels of income as well as national averages. Results: By 2009, middle-income Canadians had the lowest levels of dental insurance coverage (48.7%) compared to all other income groups. They reported the greatest increase in cost-barriers to dental care, from 12.6% in 1996 to 34.1% by 2009. Middle-income Canadians had the largest rise in out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care since 1978. Conclusions: This study suggests that affordability issues in accessing dental care are no longer just a problem for the lowest income groups in Canada, but are now impacting middle-income earners as a consequence of their lack of, or decreased access to, comprehensive dental insurance.

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0057377

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057377

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