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Biomedical subjects

L C Niessen

Publications and source records attributed to L C Niessen.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Dental treatment and demand for services in a Veterans Administration Nursing Home Care Unit.

Planning the provision of dental care in nursing homes requires evaluation of both dental needs and demand for services. Dental treatment needs have been documented for residents of longterm care facilities. This paper examines the actual dental care provided to institutionalized persons demanding care. Dental records of 144 patients at a Veterans Administration Nursing Home Care Unit (NHCU) were reviewed to evaluate needs and treatment demands. About 20 percent of the NHCU patients were currently receiving dental treatment; the remainder were on recall (closed cases). Of the total services needed, slightly over half were denture related services, about a quarter were oral surgical services, and 16 percent were operative procedures. Almost a third refused some or all of the proposed dental treatment; seven percent were unable to be examined or treated. No statistically significant difference was found between the age and the level of nursing home care needed for those receiving treatment and those refusing treatment. Once the backlog of need was met, this NHCU dental program consisted primarily of recall exams, and prosthetic and oral surgical treatment. The case mix and refusal rate may change, however, as future cohorts of elders retain more teeth and have experienced preventive dental services during their lifetimes.

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PubMed1984

Theoretical considerations in applying benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses to preventive dental programs.

Benefit-cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis can be used to evaluate preventive regimens and aid policy-makers in making resource-allocation decisions. This paper demonstrates the application of benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses to preventive dental programs. The two analyses are defined and described, and the purpose of each technic is compared. For a hypothetical community, four dental preventive programs are described: community water fluoridation, school water fluoridation, weekly school-based mouthrinses, and school-based sealants. Benefit-cost ratios and cost-effectiveness ratios are calculated for each program first assuming steady-state conditions, i.e., maximum caries reduction, and then for a 20-year period. Both explicit and implicit costs are included. Underlying assumptions and limitations, as well as the effects of changes in caries rates, differential attack rates, and discount rates on the outcome, are discussed. The analysis reveals that community water fluoridation yields the greatest net benefits and most favorable B/C and C/E ratios. School water fluoridation and mouthrinsing programs are the next most cost-effective, with similar B/C and C/E ratios when the implicit cost of teachers' time is omitted from the calculations. The school-based sealant program yields negative net benefits.

Community Dentistry↗
PubMed1984

An economic analysis of the return on investment for dental education.

This paper examines the costs and benefits the dental school applicant might consider before selecting dentistry as a career. The costs and benefits of pursuing dentistry are compared to those of selecting engineering. The rate of return to dentistry when compared to engineering is calculated for three time periods: 1974, 1978, and 1982. The rate is a proxy for the financial returns an applicant expects to recognize if he or she decides to become a dentist. The study finds that the rate of return to dentistry has declined from 23.6 percent in 1974 to 18.7 percent in 1978 and to 14.3 percent in 1982. The decline in the rate of return is greater on average for students attending private dental schools than for those attending publicly supported dental schools.

Career Choice↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Aging and oral health for the 21st century.

Americans' oral health, along with their life expectancy, has improved dramatically during the 20th century. The 21st century offers dental professionals the opportunity to help patients maintain their oral health for a lifetime. This article describes trends in health and wellness among older adults that will affect use of dental services; reviews risk factors such as chronic diseases, medications, and nursing home placement that will increase oral diseases in older adults; and concludes with opportunities for dental leadership to improve the oral health of aging Americans.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Customer for life: marketing oral health care to older adults.

Respect for and awareness of the needs of older patients from dental office staff will help such patients feel welcome in a practice. Marketing to older patients is built upon this foundation. In addition, there are other strategies for internal and external marketing aimed at older people. This article addresses the concept of turning aging patients into "customers for life."

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