Willingness to pay for implant treatment

Willingness to pay (WTP) measures an individual's strength of preference for an intervention by the maximum amount of money an individual would sacrifice for that intervention. Objectives: This study determined the WTP for implant treatment and identified the factors affecting WTP. Methods: 59 adult Chinese subjects (18 males, 41 females, mean age=39) attending the Reception Clinic at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, Hong Kong, were recruited. They were presented with 2 hypothetical clinical scenarios: 1) missing an anterior tooth, and 2) missing a posterior tooth. The clinical procedures, outcome and possible complications of the replacement options (fixed and removable partial dentures, and implants) were presented. Subjects were then asked how much they were willing to pay for tooth replacement under the 2 situations, with a starting bid of HK$20000 in HK$1000 increment/decrement if they were willing/unwilling to pay that amount (1US$=7.8HK$). The amount was recorded at which the subject chose the opposite option or it reached HK$0. Demographic data regarding age, gender, education attainment, level of income, presence of missing teeth and restorative need were also collected. Data were analysed using t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlations. Results: 94% and 84% of the subjects chose implant treatment to replace missing anterior and posterior teeth respectively. Subjects were willing to pay HK$11000 and HK$10000 respectively for implants to replace missing anterior and posterior teeth respectively (P > 0.05). Subjects who were female, without missing teeth or restorative need, had attained higher level of education, were willing to pay more for implant treatment (P < 0.05). WTP correlated negatively with age (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Subjects in this study were willing to pay half of the market price for implant treatment. Age, gender, level of education, status of missing teeth and restorative need seemed to affect WTP. Supported by CRCG-HKU.