Public oral health screening leads to regular dental visits: the LIFE Study

BackgroundAlthough periodontal disease screening has been implemented as a public oral health screening program in Japan, it remains unclear whether screening encourages regular dental visits. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that periodontal disease screening leads to subsequent regular dental visits among adults using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach. MethodsThis study used healthcare claims data of municipality residents who underwent periodontal disease screening in 2017 or 2018. For each screening recipient, four individuals of the same age and sex were extracted from those who did not undergo screening as controls. In the DID analysis, we assessed the change in the prevalence of dentist visits at least once every 180 days after screening. ResultsA total of 4,270 participants were included in the analysis. The prevalence of visiting dentists was consistent before screening among the participants who underwent screening (181-360 days before, 62.4%; 1-180 days before, 60.3%). While the prevalence was also consistent in those who did not undergo screening throughout the study period (approximately 45%), the prevalence in those who underwent screening sharply increased after undergoing the screening (1-180 days after, 81.1%) and then declined (181-360 days after, 67.8%). DID analysis indicated that the prevalence increased by 12.1% owing to screening. In addition, the age-subgroup DID estimates were higher in the younger population (aged 20-35 years, 17.4%; 40-55 years, 11.5%; 60 years, 11.0%). ConclusionPeriodontal disease screening increased subsequent dental visits, especially in younger populations.