2007 NADP Consumer Survey confirms dental benefits link to staff retention and improved oral health behaviors

Overview
     Employees with dental insurance and discount dental plans ‐ value these benefits highly and perceive themselves to be in better oral and overall health, according to a new consumer research study by the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP®). These findings and additional NADP research indicate employers value the dental coverage they provide as a critical, essential factor in employee retention. As employers struggle to balance budgets in difficult economic times, dental benefits provide a good return on investment, contributing to oral and overall health.
     The 2007 NADP Consumer Survey, based on more than 6,000 responses1, paints a broad picture of dental benefits in today’s marketplace:

     These perceptions explain the relative persistency and continuing growth of dental benefits among today’s employer groups.
     ADP’s 2008Purchaser Behavior Study shows that 72 percent of all employers offer dental benefits. This ranges from 41 percent of the smallest employers (6‐24) to 96 percent of the largest employers (5,000 or more employees). About 70 percent of employers of 250 or more employees2 consider dental benefits to be an “essential” benefit, up significantly from 2005.
      In groups with more than 1,000 employees, over 90 percent of all employers, contribute toward the cost of these benefits for their employees. In smaller groups, the percentage of employers contributing ranges from 82 to 88 percent.
     More recently, the 2008 NADP‐DDPA Enrollment Report found that slow but steady growth continues in the total number of Americans with some form of dental coverage, up 2.4 percent from 2006 to 2007, with most dental carriers predicting a similar trend in 2008 Although there remains room for growth, the number of Americans with dental coverage at the end of 2007 grew to nearly 173 million, or 57 percent of the total U.S. population.