Americans spent a record 70.3 billion dollars for dental care last year, compared with 65.6 billion dollars in 2001.

Reported in the annual government report on National Health Expenditures, dental spending in 2002 increased by 7.2% and total health care spending by 9.3% over the previous year. By contrast, the Gross Domestic Product - a prominent measure of economic growth - increased by 3.6% from 2001 to 2002.

Patients directly pay nearly half the costs of dental care, spending 30.9 billion dollars out of pocket for dental services or 44 per cent of all dental spending. Private insurance covered 34.8 billion dollars of the cost and public funds, primarily Medicaid, 4.5 billion dollars. Americans pay just 13.6% out-of-pocket for all health care, but the report's authors say recent increases in total out-of-pocket spending ‘could reflect a rising uninsured population as well as rising co-payments and deductibles paid by the privately insured.’

The authors of the report suggest that the disparity between the rate of growth of the health sector of the economy and overall economic growth ‘will have ramifications for both public and private sectors of the U.S. economy.’

In its summary of the report, the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) warns that businesses faced with increased health insurance costs will confront tough choices to cut expenses, possibly prompting smaller wage gains, reductions in health benefits, or greater cost-shifting to employees. The HSS points out that state and federal governments are also faced with costs rising more rapidly than their revenues, leading every state to scrutinize discretionary Medicaid benefits as the number of eligible for coverage continues to grow.