Economic Burden of Periodontal Disease in Europe and the United States of America - An updated forecast

Botelho, J.; Proenca, L.; Leira, Y.; Chambrone, L.; Mendes, J. J.; Machado, V.

Introduction: Periodontal disease is a pandemic condition and its severe form affects approximately 10% of the global population. Here, we present a forecast for the economic burden of periodontal disease in 32 European countries and in the United States of America (USA). Material and methods: In an aggregate population-based cost analysis, taken as reference the most recent available data, we estimated the cost of periodontal disease. Under this, global health, dental and periodontal expenditures were estimated. Additionally, indirect estimates accounted for Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) valued at per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to estimate productivity losses, including periodontal disease, edentulism due to periodontal disease and caries due to periodontal disease. Results: In 2018 the aggregate cost in Europe was estimated at 17.00B euros and 2.35B euros more in the USA (19.35B euros). Indirect costs due to periodontal disease amounted to 132.52B euros in European countries and 103.30B euros in the USA. The majority of the projected indirect costs were due to edentulism related to periodontal disease and periodontal disease. Indirect costs were the major portion of the estimated economic impact with an average of 0.66% of GDP in Europe and 0.50% in the USA. For the overall costs (direct and indirect), the value amounted to 0.75% of GDP in Europe and 0.60% in the USA. Conclusion: Periodontal disease caused a 149.52B euros loss in Europe and 122.65B euros in the USA, in 2018. These results show that the economic burden of periodontal disease is increasing.