Health economic evaluation of endodontic therapies

Abstract

Healthcare is an expensive endeavour, and it is likely that costs for endodontic treatment will grow over the next decade. The assessment of costs and, in most cases, health outcomes, and the comparison of the cost-health ratio of interventions, is at the heart of health economics. The present review aims to introduce the main concepts of health economic analysis, to systematically review the existing economic endodontic literature, and to deduce further action for the community. Overall, the identified body of evidence on the health economics of endodontic therapies is heterogenous and has several limitations: Not all studies identified robust data to inform their analyses and many relied on a wide range of assumptions, which were only explored for their impact in a limited way. However, a number of themes were identified from the review: (1) Maintaining pulpal vitality is preferable over root canal treatment if possible when it comes to cost-effectiveness. (2) Retaining teeth is usually more cost-effective than removing and replacing them. (3) Endodontic retreatment may be clinically indicated, but not always cost-effective, and should hence be considered carefully. In conclusion, the general sparsity of economic analyses is a concern, as decision makers such as commissioners or those funding dental care increasingly rely on them. The endodontic community is called to action to improve the competency of both researchers to conduct such analyses and consider them when planning research, but also clinicians who should factor in health economics when assigning interventions. Health economics should become an accepted pillar of endodontic research.