L Luzzi*, AJ Spencer, K Roberts-Thomson, K Jones

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). 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 EDC. This study was done as an adjunct to an existing data collection for a project entitled 'Relative Needs Index' (RNI) conducted in 1999. RNI data were used to describe socio-demographic characteristics, oral health status and service characteristics of patients receiving publicly funded EDC (n=427) and GDC (n=471). EDC and GDC samples were reasonably homogenous with respect to socio-demographic characteristics with only educational attainment varying significantly between samples (Chi-square, P<0.01). 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 (Chi-square; P<0.01). Oral health status data revealed that the EDC sample had significantly more decayed teeth and hence unmet need than the GDC sample, and also significantly more missing teeth than the GDC sample (ANOVA; P<0.05). Types of services received also varied amongst EDC and GDC samples with emergency patients receiving significantly more oral surgery services per course of care, but significantly less diagnostic, endodontic, restorative and general services (ANOVA; P<0.05). Hence, dental visiting patterns and service provision patterns vary according to the nature of a dental visit. This research was supported by the South Australian Dental Service and an NHMRC Public Health Postgraduate Research Scholarship.

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