The cognition of denture fabrication activities and the costs in National Health Insurance for elderly denture

Abstract

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognition of denture fabrication activities and its cost in National Health Insurance for elderly denture.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 41 dental laboratories' owner who was research subjects of HIRA(Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service)'s policy research for elderly denture in 2011. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, dental technicians' knowledge of national health insurance coverage of elderly denture, job-related changes after national health insurance coverage of elderly denture including validity of denture fabrication activity classification and the cost for each service. Each question was measured by Likert 5 point scale or frequency. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS 16.0.Results: Most of the research subjects had been fabricating national health insurance coverage denture(92.7%), also had ample knowledge of national health insurance coverage denture for elderly. Job-related changes after national health insurance coverage of elderly denture revealed marginal differences in the quality. The validity of fabrication activity classification of resin based complete denture was 3.71± 1.023 by Likert 5 point scale.Conclusion: The goal of national health insurance for elderly denture is to promote elderly' s health and well-being. To fabricate denture is a very important part of the denture treatment. For this reason, denture fabrication activity classification and the cost analysis plan should be duly reflected in the policy of national health insurance for elderly denture.[Abstract]