Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) - CACDRC 2003 Presentation
Understanding public dental service utilisation in South Australia.
L Luzzi*, AJ Spencer
Inequalities in
oral health and access to dental services are major
issues in public health in Australia. Adults eligible for publicly
funded dental care are either presenting for emergency dental care (EDC)
or are spending longer on waiting lists for general dental care (GDC).
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of
public sector dental service utilisation in South Australia, in
particular among people attending dental services for emergency dental
care.
Methods: This study was done as an adjunct to an existing data
collection for a project entitled 'Relative Needs Index' (RNI) conducted
in 1999 (PIs: Spencer AJ, Roberts-Thomson KF). RNI data were used to
describe baseline socio-demographic characteristics, oral health status
and service characteristics of patients receiving publicly funded EDC
(n=427) and GDC (n=471). Longitudinal patterns of dental service use and
service provision were also examined amongst the RNI sample. These data
were extracted from the EXACT management information system in the South
Australian Dental Service and covered a period of 3 years after
recruitment to RNI.
Results: At baseline, EDC and GDC samples were reasonably homogenous
with respect to socio-demographic characteristics with only educational
attainment varying significantly between samples. Self-reported dental
visiting behaviours (i.e., usual reason for visiting the dentist, time
since last dental visit, place of last dental visit and frequency of
dental visits) varied significantly between EDC and GDC patients. Types
of services received also varied amongst EDC and GDC samples with
emergency patients receiving significantly more oral surgery services
per COC, but significantly less diagnostic, endodontic, restorative and
general services per COC.
Conclusion: Dental visiting patterns and service provision patterns vary
according to the nature of a dental visit.
Presented at the Colgate Australian Clinical Dental Research Centre Research Day,
22 August 2003, Adelaide, Australia
