2000 Volume 8 Pages 5-23
Annual changes in dental expenditure in Japan was analyzed on the basis of data on consumer household spending and the number of patients treated in dental clinics obtained from surveys on household economy，national cost of medical care and patient surveys since 1978. The characteristic features of the trend is discussed in this paper.
Dental expenditure initially increased in parallel with an increase in gross domestic expenditure (GDE). In 1988 and thereafter，however，the rate of increase in dental expenditure was lower than that of increase in GDE. The proportion of dental expenditure to overall consumer spending increased until 1987，and remained at similar levels thereafter. Dental expenditure was higher in families in which the householder was in late middle age, and there was a large difference among different income groups.
With regard to patients treated in dental clinics，the number of patients addressed by the Elderly Health Law and the number of patients aged 70 years or older increased to almost the same degree，w hile the number of patients who paid dental care at their own expense and dental care cost not covered by health insurance decreased throughout the 1990s.
Thus，it is apparent that dental expenditure accounts for a certain portion of consumer spending，but it varies largely among households according to the income，suggesting that it is more susceptible than general health expenditure to variations in consumer spending and alterations of the health insurance system. Both the number of patients who paid dental care at their own expense and the payment for such dental care were found to be gradually decreasing after the enactment of the Elderly Health Law，in contrast to increase in the number of elderly patients.
