The demand for dental health.

This study evaluates the determinants of demand for dental health in the context of an econometric model where dental health and dental care are jointly endogenous. The theoretical analysis is based on the application of economic theory to production activities occurring at the individual or household level. A number of hypotheses concerning the change in demand for home and market dental care with respect to price and income changes are posited and empirically tested. Additional hypotheses concerning the relation between dental care and dental health are also examined statistically while controlling for a variety of sociodemographic and economic factors. One of the key empirical findings is that the net price elasticity for dental services is quite low (-0.2) for this sample of individuals with high dental insurance coverage.