Survey reveals frequency of dental visits

The latest Victorian Population Health Survey has just been released. And, for the first time, questions were included in the survey to measure self-rated oral health - the period of time since the last visit to a dental professional, and avoidance or delaying a dental visit because of cost.

The survey, for the period 2011-12, found that 56.7% of adults reported they had visited a dentist within the preceding 12 months. A further 18.2% reported that they visited a dentist between 12 months to less than two years prior to the survey. Just over 10% reported that it was five or more years since they last visited a dentist.

A higher proportion of adults reported they had visited a dentist within the previous 12 months compared with their rural counterparts.

The findings in the report include physical activity, smoking prevalence, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, intake of sugar-sweetened drinks, selected health and screening checks, body weight, asthma and diabetes prevalence, psychological distress, oral health and eye health.

The information is used for policy development and planning efforts to improve health services and to monitor the health of the population.