Potential Cost Savings Associated with Reversal of Caries Using Ozone
Authors: Helen Domingo (presenter) Julian Holmes Ruth Freeman Layla Abu-Naba'a Hisham Al Shorman Edward Lynch E-mails and addresses are the same
Text: Ozone has been shown to clinically reverse occlusal and root carious lesions. This study assessed the potential savings that could be made in the UK with the HealOzone unit (CurOzone USA and KaVo, Germany).
Objectives: To compare the reversal of caries using Ozone and assess the potential savings to centrally funded dental healthcare related to the treatment of caries with Ozone in the UK.
Methods: Data from 20 randomised, controlled, double-blind, clinical trials, showing the effective reversal of dental caries were compared. Data was obtained on the type, number and cost of restorative care procedures carried out in the UK. These results were used to extrapolate the potential savings to centrally funded dental health care.
Results: Ozone treatment significantly reversed decay in every study with reversal ranging from 83% to 99%. In 2 studies, when ozone treatment was combined with the daily use of a remineralising toothpaste, mouthrinse and spray, the reversal of caries was 99% The success rates were lower in the populations with a higher incidence and prevalence of dental caries than in those populations with a lower caries rate. . In the UK if 90% of occlusal decay can be reversed using Ozone, a potential saving of up to £112 million a year could be made. These savings represent a win-win situation for all concerned; countries potentially can save large sums of money, and patients no longer are consigned to the cycle of increasingly more complex and costly restorative care, culminating in potential tooth loss and reduced quality of life.
Conclusions: Ozone can be an effective alternative to conventional "drilling and filling" for early carious lesions. The potential savings to state-funded dental care are large. In the developing and under-developed countries, these savings may have a huge impact on the cost of the provision of dental healthcare.