Sugar Free Gum: Impact on Oral Health and Copayment In Germany

Abstract

Caries is the most common dental disease in industrial countries. Health expenditures for the treatment of caries were estimated 8.2 billion € in 2012 in Germany. In order to prevent or at least delay progression, many prevention measures have been implemented at different levels. Consumption of sugar free gum (SFG) is one preventive measure at the individual level. The benefit of SFG in caries prevention is proven by numerous studies. The presented study evaluates the cost - effectiveness of SFG from the perspective of the patient based on copayment in Germany. The development of the current status in dental health care is projected on a time horizon of 62 years. This is compared to a scenario where the consumption of SFG is increased to the Finnish level of consumption. Every tooth can range between the stages “No caries”, “1-4 area filling”, “Partial crown”, “Crown” and “Bridge / Prosthesis / Implant”. Transition probabilities were calculated based on the epidemiological data in the DMS IV. The calculation was conducted from the patients´ point of view including costs for copayment. An increase in SFG consumption to a Finnish level leads to lifetime costs for caries of 16.882,73 € per patient for copayment. If the SFG consumption stays at its current level, the costs per patient are 23.801,11 €. As a result, in Germany an increase in SFG consumption leads to cost savings of about 7,000 € per patient within 62 years, or annual savings of 111 €. Increasing the consumption of SFG leads to both improvement of oral health and cost savings for the patient.