Costs of publicly financed dental care for children in three different types of practice settings.

This analysis of the Chattanooga Program has provided preliminary findings on the relative cost of providing dental care through three different modes of care delivery: private practice, public fixed clinics, and public modile clinics. Significant differences in costs were found. It is reasonable to conclude, tentatively, that public services were being used more efficiently than private services in the delivery of dental care involved in this program. The results contest the findings of previous studies which indicated that mobile clinics were relatively inefficient. This study, however, based on a limited time period and refers to a specific program. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to generalize too hastily from the results. At this time, further research is being conducted to extend the period of analysis, and to deal explicitly with differences in patient characteristics, service mixes, and quality, to explain the economic reasons for the apparent differences in efficiency by delivery mode, and to consider the implications of the findings for dental policy.