Procedure time for dental treatment procedures in Taiwan

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the duration of various dental procedures, in order to establish a basis for reasonable reimbursement of dentists in hospitals or dental clinics in the future. Methods: Upon recommendation of the National Dental Association of the Republic of China, the first Technical Consulting Group (TCG) was formed to select the dental services and procedures (S/Ps) to be investigated. After stratified random sampling by practice setting and region, a questionnaire was developed for the survey. Using the Delphi Technique with a two-round questionnaire, we asked dental practitioners to estimate the length of time required for each of the S/Ps. We then asked the second TCG to evaluate the results and to estimate the duration for non-surveyed S/Ps. Results: (1) Showing excellent validity (r=0.883), the time required for 79 dental procedures was established. (2) Although other factors such as costs were not included, the results of the present study correlated well (r=0.772) with the dental payment system of the National Health Insurance (NHI). Conclusions: (1) We have established the usual duration of 79 dental procedures by questionnaire and TCG exploring. (2) Procedure duration was not affected by the location of the practice in hospital or clinic. (3) In most cases, 22 items, procedure duration was not affected by the location of the practice in urban or rural. (4) The NHI dental fee schedule matched adequately the duration of 19 surveyed procedures. The time required for all 79 procedures also correlated highly with the NHI fee schedule.