Cost - benefit assessment of a novel ozone delivery system versus conventional treatment.

N. D. JOHNSON1, J. JOHNSON1* and E. LYNCH2. (1Llanelli, Wales, UK, 1Oral Health Research Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, N.I.)

Objectives: Ozone is showing great promise as an interceptive management treatment for primary fissure caries and root caries. Provision of dental care has important financial implications for individuals and for society. This study aimed to assess if there is a cost / benefit advantage for ozone therapy compared with conventional ‘drill and fill’ dentistry. Conventional treatment involves several treatment steps from administering local analgesia; the use of various cutting instruments; isolation techniques and expensive dental materials. Typical timings for conventional restoration of primary carious lesions may vary from 20 to over 40 minutes. Utilization of ozone therapy removes many of the stages of conventional treatment and offers potentially a better cost / benefit ratio. Materials and Methods: In a typical “High Street” Dental practice an analysis was undertaken to compare time and costs for conventional restoration of primary carious lesions with the use of a novel ozone therapy technique (HealOzone)1. 48 patients exhibiting either primary occlusal or root caries were recruited into the study. After randomisation, 24 patients were treated conventionally and 24 with ozone therapy. Detailed timings and costs of the procedures were recorded.

Results: Conventional treatments (local analgesia, drilling and filling) necessitated a minimum of 20 minutes of chair time. Ozone therapy involved a minimum of 3 minutes. Typical UK costs for providing treatment were considered and compared with the costs of using ozone therapy. The time and cost of conventional treatment far outweighed the ozone therapy (P<0.05). Conclusion: Ozone therapy for primary fissure and root caries offers a major cost / benefit advance in general dental practice. 1HealOzone unit, CurOzone USA.