Evaluation of Performance of Dental Providers on Posterior Restorations: Does Experience Matter? A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach

  • Authors:

  • M. Nicholas Coppola;Yasar A. Ozcan;Russell Bogacki

  • Affiliations:

  • Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia;Department of Health Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 980203, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0203/ ozcan@vcu.edu;School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Medical Systems
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to discern what factors affect the longevity of amalgam and of composite restorations by dentists who perform posterior restorations. Data are obtained from the Washington Dental Service and contain 1.5 million patient encounters representing visits to 23,000 providers from January 1993 through 31 December 1999. Analysis of provider performance is estimated through Data Envelopment Analysis. The principal finding is that the most efficient dentists produce posterior restorations that survive almost 5 months (4.6 months) longer than those by inefficient providers (χ2 = 18.98, p