DENTAL PROFESSIONALS


Visiting a dental professional for a regular check up is important for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. While there are no official guidelines in Australia as to the recommended frequency of visiting a dental professional, most dental diseases are completely preventable and therefore early intervention can assist in promoting good oral health as well as overall health. This chapter presents data on people who saw a dental professional in the previous 12 months. Respondents were asked about the frequency of their visits, as well as about the services they had used and barriers to accessing care.

Nationally, nearly half of all people aged 15 years and over saw a dental professional at least once in the previous 12 months (49.4%). This proportion has remained constant over the last three years, 2011-12 (48.6%) and 2010-11 (49.4%). (Table 1)

As with GPs and medical specialists, more females than males saw a dental professional (53.0% compared with 45.7%). Those aged 85 and over (38.4%) and those aged 25-34 (40.6%) were the least likely to see a dental professional. (Table 2.2)

Of the population who saw a dental professional in the previous 12 months, 89.6% visited a private dental clinic and 8.5% visited a government dental clinic. People living in the areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely to visit a public dental clinic compared with those living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage (18.5% compared with 2.7%). Similarly, people living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas of Australia were more likely to visit a public dental clinic compared with those living in major cities of Australia (12.0% compared with 7.4%). (Table 12.2)

FREQUENCY OF VISITS

Of the 9 million people aged 15 years and over who saw a dentist in the previous 12 months, 43.6% went once, 43.7% went two to three times and the remaining 12.8% of people saw a dentist four or more times. Those living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely to see a dentist four or more times (15.9%) than those living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage (10.4%). (Tables 12.1 and 12.2)

BARRIERS

One of the benefits of a household based survey is that data can be collected from those who did not access health services as well as from those that did. It is therefore possible to obtain information from people who may have needed to access a health service, but did not access this service, and the reasons they did not access the health service.

Of the 11 million people who needed to see a dental professional in the previous 12 months, almost one in five had delayed seeing or had not seen one in the previous 12 months because of the cost (18.4%). Females were more likely than males to delay seeing or not see a dental professional due to cost (19.6% compared with 17.0%). (Tables 11.1 and 11.2)

People aged 25-34 were the most likely to delay seeing or not see a dental professional because of cost (27.4%). This proportion increased to nearly one in three for females aged 25-34 years (28.7%). (Table 11.2)

People living in the areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely to delay seeing or not see a dental professional due to cost compared with those living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage (23.8% compared with 12.3%). (Table 12.2)

People living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas of Australia were more likely to delay seeing or not see a dental professional due to cost compared with those living in major cities (21.4% compared with 17.2%). (Table 12.2)

People with a long term health condition were more likely to delay seeing or not see a dental professional due to cost compared with those without a long term health condition (20.9% compared with 16.1%). (Table 12.2)