DENTAL CONSULTATION

Definition

This topic refers to information collected about respondents' consultations with a dentist or dental professional for the respondent's own health.

Population

Information was obtained for persons aged 2 years and over in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS).

Methodology

Consultations at dental hospitals are included, but dental consultations during a hospital in-patient stay or visit to casualty/emergency, outpatients or day clinic are excluded. Persons who consulted a doctor about a dental problem are included under the item Doctor consultation (see Doctor consultations for more information).

Respondents were asked what type of health professional did they last see about their teeth, from the following responses:

• Dentist
• Doctor / GP
• Nurse
• Other
• Never seen health professional about teeth

Respondents who had seen a health professional about their teeth were asked if they had consulted a dentist or dental professional about their teeth, gums or false teeth in the last 2 weeks. If so, how many times. If not, they were asked when was the last time they had consulted (if non-remote, or 'went to' if remote) a dentist or dental professional from the following responses:

• Less than 3 months ago
• 3 months to less than 6 months ago
• 6 months up to 12 months ago
• 12 months ago to less than 2 years ago
• 2 years ago or more
• Don't know

Respondents who had seen a health professional about their teeth were then asked if they usually go to a dentist for treatment, a check-up or both. Respondents were then asked where did they last visit a dentist from the below responses:

• Private dental clinic (including specialist)
• Government dental clinic (including dental hospital)
• School dental clinic
• Dentist at Aboriginal Medical Service/Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Medical Service/Community Clinic
• Other
• Don’t know

Non-remote respondents were then asked whether the most recent visit to a dentist was for emergency treatment. If not, they were asked how long did they have to wait before receiving non-urgent treatment.

All respondents aged 2 years and over were asked how often they brush their teeth.

Respondents aged 15 years and over were asked whether they have lost any of their teeth, excluding wisdom teeth. If yes, they were asked how many teeth had they lost, followed by whether they wear dentures or false teeth that can be removed and if not, whether they need to get false teeth so that they can eat properly.

Respondents aged between 2 to 6 years who had seen a health professional about their teeth were asked whether they had any teeth filled by the dentist, followed by whether any of their teeth had been pulled out by the dentist.

All respondents were then asked whether they needed to go to a dentist in the previous 12 months but didn't. If yes, this was followed by a
question regarding the reason they didn't go, from the below responses:

• Cost
• Discrimination
• Service not culturally appropriate
• Language problems
• Transport/distance
• Does not trust the dentist
• Waiting time too long or not available at time required
• Not available in area
• Too busy (including work, personal, family responsibilities)
• Dislikes service/professional, afraid, embarrassed
• Felt it would be inadequate
• Decided not to seek care
• Other

More than one response was allowed.

Data items

Data items and related output categories for this topic will be available in Excel spreadsheet format from the Downloads page of this product.

Interpretation

Points to be considered when interpreting data for this topic include the following:

• For reasons of consistency with other actions data obtained in the survey, a two week reference period was used for dental consultations. However, it is recognised that dental consultations generally occur less frequently than consultations with doctors and some other health professionals. As a result, the data from this survey on the usage of dental services (particularly in applications such as deriving annual aggregates of service usage) may not be as reliable as for other types of health services covered in the survey.
• Responses to the question about reasons a respondent didn't go to the health professional require interpretation by respondents on a perceived 'need' to go to the service or health professional. Some respondents may have interpreted this as being a medical emergency, while others may have interpreted it to include routine check-ups.
• Respondents may have needed to go to the service or health professional. However, due to being unable to access the particular service or health professional, may have sought care elsewhere. Respondents may then have seen the need as not being relevant as they received attention and therefore respond in the negative to the question.

Comparability with 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS)

Data for common items are considered directly comparable between the 2004-05 NATSIHS and 2012-13 NATSIHS. It should be noted that in 2012-13 there was an additional category of 'Trust in the dentist' added to the reasons a respondent didn't go to a dentist when they should have.

Comparability with 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS)

Data for common items are considered directly comparable between the 2008 NATSISS and 2012-13 NATSIHS, however, these were only collected for children aged less than 15 years in the NATSISS.

Comparability with 2011-12 National Health Survey (NHS)

Data for common items are considered directly comparable between the 2011-12 NHS and 2012-13 NATSIHS. It should be noted, the NHS question asks about dentist consults in one multi response question along with other actions a respondent may have undertaken for their own health in the last 2 weeks. Although their concepts should be the same the slight difference in the collection method may cause some bias to result in the responses.

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