Abstract
This study is aimed at reviewing how elderly people in Thailand access to dental prosthesis service
comparing 2009 with 2013. Primary data was derived from two major household surveys conducted by
National Statistical Bureau in 2009 and 2013; health and welfare survey, and economic and social status
survey (n = 26,500 households in 2009 and 27,960 households in 2013). Extrapolation to total population
by weight was then calculated.
It was found that proportion of ageing population covered by health insurance in 2009 and 2013 was
97.3 and 97.9%, of which national health insurance scheme contributed 79.3% and 80.9% respectively.
Among them, dental health care utilization was low as 8.2-8.7%. Additionally, the percentage of accessing
to dental prosthesis services increased from 15.6% in 2009 to 15.8% in 2013. Most of the elderly (38.2-
40.3%) seeked dental prosthesis through private services. While a percentage of the omission of health
insurance scheme prevailed at 57.6 in 2009, reduced to 52.1 in 2013. On the other hand, utilization of
dental prosthesis among the elderly with high and low income in Bangkok and municipality areas in 2013
was found 2.8 times higher than the elderly with low income in rural areas. This viewed obviously the
inequity in access to dental prosthesis among elderly people in Thailand.
