18(40)
Tabell 2.
Competition measure, means.
Variable
Mean
SD
Min
Max
Competition measure, all clinics
Clinics within 1 km
17.4
33.2
0
218
Clinics within 5 km
72.6
132.0
0
520
Clinics within 1 km, geographical areas
Metropolitan municipality
57.3
59.4
0
218
Large city
14.1
11.6
0
49
Forest counties
2.0
2.3
0
13
All other areas
3.7
5.7
0
192
Note: SD = Standard deviation. Definitions of geographical areas are given in the
appendix.
Table 3 summarize mean prices and occurrences for services included
in the analysis. First-stage services are defined as the kind of service a
patient generally would get during a routine check-up or when visiting the
dentist for the first time. The first-stage services are therefore defined as
examinations performed by a dentist or a dental hygienist. The follow-on
services are defined as a somewhat complicated treatment for which the
patient has a diagnosed need, e.g. a cavity or a bacterial infection. All
prices are in SEK.
20
As expected, the first-stage services are on average
cheaper than the follow-on services. Only services that account for at least
0.5% of the total amount of services in the register are included.
21
One
common service that has not been included in the analysis are fillings. The
reason is that it is not straightforward whether filling a cavity should be
viewed as a follow-on service or not. Even though it clearly is a treatment
preceded by an examination, an uncomplicated filling may be performed in
connection with an examination performed by a dentist.
22
In the main analysis, I use basic examination and tooth extractions. The
reason is that these services are the most common first-stage service and
follow-on service respectively. The other services listed in table 3 are used
to perform sensitivity analyses.
Basic examination performed by a dentist is the single most common
service in the register and accounts for about 17% of all services. It
contains basic diagnostics and minor treatments such as removal of
dental calculus and fluoride rinsing. Full examination performed by dental
hygienist is a somewhat more comprehensive examination, as it also
contains an assessment of the patients’ general health status and habits.
A patient may be called back for an examination by a dentist to further
evaluate findings made by the dental hygienist. However, the most
common procedure is that patients with e.g. indications of caries, are
called back to see a dentist for treatment rather than re-examination.
20
1 SEK
$ 0.15 in September 2013.
21
There are 42,645,349 services registered during the period July 2008–June 2011.
22
Other services among the top 0.5% that have been excluded are acute
examinations, x-rays (apart from pictures taken during examinations), information
and instruction for patients at risk for e.g. caries, professional tooth cleaning in
connection with examination and non-surgical periodontal therapy (somewhat
more complicated dental plaque removal).
