Estimate of Willingness to Pay for prevention and treatment of Dental services in Tabriz Households in 2017

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Understanding patient values of prevention and factors influencing these would allow the development of strategies to change patient behaviour. Economics has specific ways of measuring valuations and one technique, willingness to pay has particular advantages for valuing dental interventions. The objectives of this study were: 1) a comparative study of the levels of dental services in selected countries 2) Estimation the willingness to pay for dental services and 3) to analyze the factors associated with willingness to pay. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected through a self-reporting questionnaire based on the contingent valuation method. The double boundeddichotomous choice and open-ended question approach was used to elicit the willingness to pay in a sample of 300 household heads referred to Tabriz health centers, Iran, in 2018. The probit Model was used to address factors related to willingness to pay for dental insurance. Data analysis was performed using Stata version 11. Results: The mean WTP amounts for fissure sealant and fluoride therapy were 1165000, 570000 Rials, respectively. The mean WTP amounts for scaling, root canal and orthodontics were 1081000, 2516000 and 6164000 Rials, respectively. Results showed household income, education, age, regular dentist visits, and having an elderly person in the family were the most effective factors on willingness to pay. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that literacy of the head of household is one of the important factors in the willingness to pay for dental services. Therefore, increasing community health literacy can have a major impact on their timely treatment decisions