The Application of Data Mining to Analyze the Dental Care Utilization and Expenditures of Catastrophic Illness Patients

Background: Previous research has shown that caries risk factors have many aspects. Recently, according to information from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance database, the medical expenditure on catastrophic illness patients has increased significantly. According to Andersen Model medical service utilization included predisposing factors, enabling factors and need factors. It is known that children with very complex illness frequently require regular long-term medication , but the knowledge of oral health effects caused by long-term medication in medically compromised children is sparse . Many pharmaceutical preparations used on a long-term basis may have a low pH, high acidity, and contain sugar. A strong correlation between xerostomia and pharmacological treatment has been shown, and a number of drugs have been listed as xerogenic. These drugs include those with a direct damage to salivary glands such as cytotoxic drugs, drugs with anticholinergic activity, drugs which deplete fluid as diuretics, and drugs acting on sympathetic system like antihypertensive drugs .Technical development and continuing improvement in surgical methods have led to early interventions and an increased survival and consequently also a new group of patients in dentistry. The general aim of this study is to study the dental service utilization and some possible background factors in children with catastrophic illness. Objective: We selected children at the age under 18 from 2002-2012 National insurance data base combined with the Registry for catastrophic illness patients (HV). The factors including sex, age, illness, complications, and living area were chosen from the survey. Evaluate the relationship between these factors and caries treatment. Using logistic regression and decision tree to analysis which factor influence the dental utilization of caries in dental health service in Taiwan. To facilitate the understanding of health care utilization complexities, this study contains four principal objectives: 1) Analyze the situation of dental service utilization among children aged 0-18 with different catastrophic illness. 2) Discuss the impact of individual (gender, age, comlications and socioeconomic status) and environmental (hospital region, level, ownership, and urban-rural gap) related factors on dental service utilization of different catastrophic illness. 3) Analyze above differences and correlation and make recommendations for early screening and early treatment to provide a predictive model for preventive dentistry. 4) Understanding of the sources of variability in dental care utilization and recognition of the importance of further dental care utilization research.