Prosthetic restoration in the single-tooth gap: patient preferences and analysis of the WTP index
, , . Prosthetic restoration in the single-tooth gap: patient preferences and analysis of the WTP index. Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 00, 2013; 1–8.
Abstract
Objective
The
objective of this study was to evaluate the preference of a patients'
population, according to the index of willingness to pay (WTP), against
two treatments to restore a single-tooth gap: the implant-supported
crown (ISC) and the 3-unit fixed partial denture prosthesis (FPDP) on
natural teeth.
Materials and methods
Willingness
to pay values were recorded on 107 subjects by asking the WTP from a
starting bid of €2000 modifiable through monetary increases or decreases
(€100). Data were collected through an individually delivered
questionnaire. The characteristics of the population and choices made,
the median values and WTP associations with socio-demographic parameters
(Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests), correlations between variables
(chi-square test in contingency tables) and significant parameters for
predicting WTP values obtained in a multiple linear regression model
were revealed.
Results
The
64% of patients expressed a preference for ISC, while the remaining 36%
of the population chose the FPDP. The current therapeutic choice and
those carried out in the past were generally in agreement (>70% of
cases, P = 0.0001); a relationship was discovered between the
anterior and posterior area to the same method of rehabilitation (101 of
107 cases, 94.4%). The WTP median values for ISC were of €3000 and of
€2500 in the anterior and posterior areas, respectively. The smallest
amount of money has been allocated for FPDP in posterior region (median
of €1500). The “importance of oral care” for the patient was a
significant predictor, in the regression model analysis, for the
estimation of both anterior (P = 0.0003) and posterior (P < 0.0001) WTP values. The “previous therapy” variable reached and was just close to significance in anterior (P = 0.0367) and posterior (P = 0.0511) analyses, respectively.
Conclusions
Within
the limitations of this study, most of the population (64%) surveyed
indicated the ISC as a therapeutic solution for the replacement of a
single missing tooth, showing a higher WTP index in the anterior area.
Among investigated socio-demographic variables, the importance assigned
by the patient to oral care appeared to influence WTP values of the
rehabilitation, regardless the location of the single gap in the mouth.
Comments