Abstract
Japanese live longer and require dental services for more decades of their life than ever before. Disposable insome available for dental services has risen steadily, even though people have a reduced average income during their retirement years. Through education and financial stability, people have become increasingly concerned with their oral health. Elderly Japanese are now more able and willing to make significant investments in oral health care. In Japan, dentists are paid on a fee-for-service system. Insurance covers the majority of officially authorized dental procedures. But special procedures, such as orthodontic and prosthodontic care, are paid for by the patient. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in dental health beliefs between wearers of insurance-provided removable dentures and wearers of other removable dentures. A total of 182 patients with removable dentures who attended the Prosthodontic Clinic of Showa University Dental Hospital were interviewed before an oral examination. We found no significant differences in dental beliefs between wearers of insrance-provided dentures and wearers of other dentures except in denture-cleaning habits. The results suggest that patients with non-insrance-provided dentures should be more concerned about their remaining teeth.
