A Ellershaw

Dental attendance patterns of Australian adults.

A person’s usual attendance behaviour is frequently described by reference to individual characteristics of their dental visits including their frequency of dental visiting, their usual reason for making a dental visit and whether they visit a usual dental care provider. The concept of developing a composite indicator to reflect a person’s usual dental attendance behaviour was initially explored using data from the 2004–06 National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH). Adults were described as having a ‘favourable’ pattern of dental attendance if they had a usual dental provider they visited once a year for the purpose of a dental check-up. An ‘unfavourable’ pattern of dental attendance was defined as adults who visited the dentist infrequently (less often than once every two years) for the purpose of a dental problem and did not have a usual dental care provider. The remaining adults were classified to an ‘intermediate’ category to reflect their mixed pattern of dental attendance. The concept of a ‘favourable’ through to ‘unfavourable’ pattern of dental attendance was formed to reflect how closely a person’s pattern of dental attendance aligned with that recommended by the dental profession. In 2004–06 it was estimated that 39.3% of Australian dentate adults had a favourable pattern of dental attendance and nearly 29% had an unfavourable attendance pattern. The purpose of this report is to further develop the previous research undertaken using more recent data from the 2010 National Dental Telephone Interview Survey (NDTIS). Firstly, the report will focus on comparisons between the sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Australian dentate adults described as having a ‘favourable’ or ‘unfavourable’ pattern of dental attendance. Secondly, the report will explore the relationship between patterns of dental attendance and a range of indicators collected in NDTIS including oral health status, the social impact of dental problems and the type of dental treatment received. Lastly, the report will investigate the impact of the cost of dental care on the dental attendance patterns of Australian dentate adults. SURVEY METHODOLOGY