An economic evaluation of a publicly funded dental prevention programme in regional and rural Victoria: An extrapolated analysis

Abstract

Objective: To determine the long-term cost-benefit of a community-wide, publicly-funded dental prevention programme. Design: A modelled economic analysis which extrapolated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness results of a three-year comprehensive preventive dental programme conducted in a single cohort of adolescents in the non-fluoridated towns of Geelong and Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Assumptions were made for both benefits and costs. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to report a range of estimates of potential programme benefits. Setting: All secondary colleges in two non-fluoridated regional centres and their surrounding rural areas. Subjects: All Year 7 to 9 students; mean ag..