Improvements in the production of Conventional Total Dentures - a Budget impact analysis with an emphasis on the SUS

The study calculated the costs involved in the manufacture of Conventional Total Dentures (CTD) within the context of the Unified Health System (SUS), and evaluated the budgetary impact of the improvements to the manufacturing of these technologies. An analysis of micro-costing nested in the budget impact was conducted, and two strategies were defined: the reference and the comparator, having as hypothetical cohort the maximum number of prostheses provided per month in the first three funding ranges of the Regional Dental Laboratories, over a course of one year. The costs were based on the price panel of the Brazilian Ministry of Economy, in consultations in virtual stores, and the survey of material costs purchased from a type III Center of Orthodontics Specialties (CEO - Centro de Especialidades Odontológicas). The sensitivity analysis was based on 20% of variation in costs. The incorporation of improvements represented less than a 10% increase in costs in relation to the reference strategy. The overall costs of a CTD with improvements in the current scenario ranged from R$ 212.28 to R$ 218.42, with a variation of R$ 169.83 to R$ 262.10 in the sensitivity analysis. The costs linked to the improvement of the CTD are compatible with the financial incentives provided by the financing sector of the Unified Health System.

Key words:
Health Economics; Budgets; Unified Health System; Oral Health