What would nationwide school dental prevention cost—and save?

We are developing a transparent economic model to estimate program costs, avoided dental treatment, financing needs, and the value of broader access to preventive care.

Full economic report forthcoming · Not yet a finalized estimate

Start with outcomes the evidence can support.

School-based dental sealant programs are supported by public health evidence for preventing cavities. The financial model will examine marginal program costs and avoided treatment expenses compared with existing dental benefits and school services.

Potential links between childhood prevention, nutrition knowledge, and adult chronic disease merit research—but associated diabetes or cardiovascular costs will not be presented as guaranteed savings.

Any national return-on-investment estimates will identify their populations, dates, assumptions, sensitivity ranges, and whether benefits accrue to payers or society.

The forthcoming assessment will evaluate

Costs

Delivery and infrastructure

Clinical workforce, portable equipment, education integration, screening, consent, data systems, quality assurance and geographic variation.

Savings

Avoided dental treatment

Restorative care, urgent and emergency care, referrals and Medicaid/CHIP payment offsets where supported.

Uncertainty

Long-horizon benefits

School attendance, health equity and prospective chronic disease outcomes, clearly separated from demonstrated cost savings.

Implementation reference

An existing school-based model to learn from.

Project Allsmiles' San Diego County SBDSP provides an operational reference for estimating clinical workflows and implementation needs. Its local experience cannot automatically be extrapolated nationwide without adjusting for local conditions.

Explore Project Allsmiles ↗See national policy proposal