Practice activity patterns of dentists in Australia

According to a report just published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), dentists are increasingly focused on preventive and maintenance care with more Australians keeping more of their natural teeth as they age.

These changes in oral health, demographics and use of services are expected to continue to affect the practice activity patterns of dentists, the report says.

Dr David Brennan of the AIHW's Dental Statistics and Research Unit based in the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health at the University of Adelaide, said retention of natural teeth is becoming increasingly common, as early detection of dental problems becomes more routine.

"This raised expectation for retaining a healthy natural dentition for life is likely to see sustained demand for the services of dentists both currently and into the future", he said.

The report, Practice activity patterns of dentists in Australia: trends over time by age of patients, presents findings from a random sample of dentists, collected at five-year intervals between the 1993-94 and 2003-04.

While check-up was the most common reason for a dental visit (48.4%, 41.1% and 43.2% at each survey interval), the percentage of patients seeking pain relief decreased over time from 31.4% to 26.7%.

The percentage of patients who were seeing the dentist for follow-up or maintenance care increased for all patients. The numbers of different diagnostic services also increased over time among most patient age groups, but especially among the 65 and overs, which increased from 46 diagnostic services per 100 visits to 67 diagnostic services per 100 visits, reflecting increased rates of both dental examinations and x-rays. Crown and bridge services also increased.