Moral Hazard and the Demand for Dental Treatment: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey in Thailand
Table 1
Differences of dental benefits coverage among 3 health insurance schemes.
Dental services
CSMBS
UCS
SSS
Oral examination
Yes
Yes
Yes
Fluoride treatment
170 baht/visit for persons with a high risk of dental caries
Capitation budget for children and persons with a high risk of dental caries
No
Sealant treatment
No
Capitation budget for children and adolescents
No
Scaling
140 baht/visit for half of the mouth or 280 baht/visit for full mouth
Benefits of these basic dental services: Scaling, filling, extraction, and wisdom tooth removal are included in the outpatient (OP) capitation budget
Benefits cover the fee for service (FFS) of these basic dental services: Scaling, filling, extraction, and wisdom tooth removal but no more than 900 baht/person/year in total.
Filling
240–600 baht/tooth, depending on materials and number of cavities
Extraction
200–350 baht/tooth, depending on complexity
Wisdom tooth removal
700–1,000 baht/tooth
Root canal treatment on primary teeth
500–970 baht/tooth, depending on teeth position
Benefit is included in the OP capitation budget
No
Root canal treatment on permanent teeth
1,060–3,500 baht/tooth, depending on teeth position
No
No
Removable partial dentures for 1–5 teeth
1,500 baht/person
Acrylic partial or complete dentures within capitation budget
1,300 baht/person
Removable partial dentures for 6 teeth +
2,000 baht/person
1,500 baht/person
Removable complete dentures for upper or lower mouth
3,000 baht/person
2,400 baht/person
Removable complete dentures for both upper and lower mouth
6,000 baht/person
4,400 baht/person
Orthodontics
Only cleft lip and palate patients and patients who have had accidents are allowed by a dentist to get benefits
48,000 baht/person over lifespan only for cleft lip and palate patients
No
Place of dental visits
Beneficiaries are able to visit a dentist at any public hospital.
Most beneficiaries are able to visit a dentist at public hospitals according to places in their contract.
Beneficiaries are able to visit a dentist at any private or public clinic and hospital according to their contract.
Source: Comptroller General’s Department [10] NHSO 2017, 2020 Social Security Office [11] Services are included in the capitation budget under UCS for all targeted Thai citizens regardless of health insurance schemes.
