Longitudinal analysis of dental healthcare costs among adolescents living in Amsterdam

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to analyze patterns of oral healthcare consumption from 2009 to 2016 of adolescents living in Amsterdam. It was assessed whether visiting a dentist earlier in childhood and regular dental attendance between ages 10 and 16 were associated with oral healthcare consumption at age 17. Dental costs (in euros) were used as a proxy for oral healthcare consumption since data on dental performance codes, number of visits, or clinical data were not available in this study. METHODS: The study population consisted of all 12-year-old adolescents living in Amsterdam in 2012. Retrospective, longitudinal data on dental costs and sociodemographics were obtained via Statistics Netherlands. Explanatory variables were whether dental costs were incurred at age 9 (in 2009; yes/no and amount) and whether consecutive dental costs were incurred from the age of 10 to 16 (between 2010 and 2015; yes/no). The outcome was dental costs at age 17 (in 2016; yes/no and amount). RESULTS: Dental costs at age 17 were available for 6,871 children. Dental costs at age 9 and consecutive dental costs were significantly associated with having dental costs at age 17. The amount of dental costs at age 9 was significantly and positively associated with higher dental costs at age 17. No association was found between consecutive dental costs during childhood and the amount of dental costs at age 17. CONCLUSIONS: A large volume of oral healthcare consumption earlier in childhood was associated with high dental costs for 17-year-olds. Adolescents who regularly visited a dentist during childhood continued to do so at age 17. However, regular dental attendance was not associated with lower dental costs at age 17.