Impact of Having Dental Insurance (Employee Health Scheme) on Oral Health Outcomes in Andhra Pradesh, India A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract Background: In India, there is discussion over whether or not oral and/or dental care should be included in general health insurance policies. However, there is still a lack of empirical research on how dental insurance affects oral health-related outcomes in this population. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study included 1144 adult participants who were permanent residents of Andhra Pradesh, India. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Besides calculating descriptive statistics, marginal effects (MEs) of Employee Health Scheme (EHS) on dental service utilization were also estimated. Multivariate regression models were used to derive ME for self-reported oral health (SROH) status and oral and/or dental health care visiting behavior. ME of having insurance was investigated across various co-variables such as age, gender, income, and education. Results: EHS insurance scheme has a positive impact on the dental service utilization. The proportion of study participants who visited dentist at least once a year for checkups were 68.2% in the EHS group and 34.7% in the non EHS group and utilization was more in people who marked excellent or good Self reported oral health(SROH) status than others (59.8% vs. 40.2%). Only having dental insurance was significantly associated with oral health outcomes across all subgroups. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that having dental insurance is associated with better dental visiting behavior and SROH. Policymakers and insurance companies should consider the inclusion of dental care under universal coverage insurance policies.