How often people visit a dentist
3 in 5
people aged 5 and older visited a dentist in the past year
In 2010 almost four in five children aged 5–14 visited a dental practitioner in the previous 12 months (78%), and 91.1% visited within the previous 2 years. Close to 60% of adults aged 25–44 had visited a dental practitioner in the previous 12 months, with 77.6% having visited in the previous 2 years.
More females visited within the previous year than males (67.4% and 60.6%, respectively).
People in lower income households went to the dentist less often than those in higher income households. Of those on a household income of less than $12,000 per year, 49.8% visited the dentist within the previous year, compared to 66.8% for those with a household income of at least $100,000. In addition, 34.4% of the lower income group hadn’t visited the dentist at all in the past 2 years, compared to 15.7% of the higher income group.
Across remoteness areas, a higher proportion of adults living in Major cities had visited a dental practitioner in the previous year (63.8%). The lowest proportion was for those living in Inner regional areas (56.8%).
Almost three-quarters (71.9%) of those with dental insurance visited a dentist within the previous year, compared to about half (49.6%) of those uninsured.
Reasons for visiting a dentist
Younger people were more likely to visit a dentist for a check-up than adults in 2010. More than four in five children and young adults (under 25) reported that their last dental visit was for a check-up (83.2% for children aged 5–14 and 80.3% for those aged 15–24). By contrast, just under half of adults aged 45–64 attended because of a problem (46.6%).
With the exception of those in the lowest household income group, visiting for a check-up was associated with higher household income, varying from 53.0% for those with household income of $12,000–$20,000 to 72.3% for those with household income of $100,000 or over.
People living in Major cities had higher rates of visiting for a check-up (66.8%) than those in Outer regional areas (58.1%).
More people who had insurance (70.3%) reported their last visit was for a check-up than those without insurance (57.1%).
Types of dental practice visited
In 2010, almost 9 out of 10 (88.3%) people reported that their last dental visit was to a private dental practice, compared to 6% at a public dental service and 4.8% to a school dental service.
Just under one-quarter (22.8%) of children aged 5–14 attended a school dental service for their last dental visit and over two-thirds (68.2%) attended a private practice.
Older adults (65 and over) used public dental services more than all other age groups.
More people on lower incomes used a public dental service than those on higher incomes. About 28.3% of dentate people (still with some natural teeth) in the $12,000–<$20,000 household income bracket visited a public dental service at their last visit. This compares to 1.3% of those with household income of $100,000 and over. Use of school dental services was relatively even across all income groups.
Across remoteness areas, use of a school dental service was highest in Remote/Very remote areas (21.2%) compared to those living in Major cities (3.3%). The use of public dental services was lowest in Major cities (5.1%) and highest in Inner regional areas (8.3%).
More insured people accessed private care at their last visit than uninsured people (94.9% and 76.8% respectively).
Patterns in dental visits
Overall in 2010, about half (49.4%) of all adults who still had some natural teeth had favourable dental visiting patterns (that is, visited a dentist within the past 12 months).
Adults with some natural teeth and who were 65 and over had higher rates of favourable attendance than those aged 25–44 (56.6% and 46.4%, respectively). In contrast, 25–44 year olds had higher rates of unfavourable attendance than 18–24 year olds (19.0% and 12.3%, respectively).
Females were more likely to have favourable visiting patterns (53.4%) than males (45.3%).
The proportion of adults with some natural teeth and who had favourable visiting patterns varied by household income. Just over one-third (35.3%) of adults in the lowest income group had favourable visiting patterns compared to well over half (59.2%) of those in the highest group.
Across remoteness areas, adults with some natural teeth who lived in Major cities had the highest rates of favourable attendance (52.6%) and those in Remote/Very remote areas had the lowest (34.0%).
Almost two-thirds (62.8%) of adults with some natural teeth and who were insured had favourable visiting patterns, compared to just under one-third (31.1%) of those without dental insurance.
Services at the dentist
In 2010, people who had some natural teeth and who visited a dentist in the last 12 months made, on average, 2.34 visits. On average they received 0.94 scale and clean services, 0.69 fillings and 0.25 extractions.
While the average number of extractions ranged from 0.15 to 0.35, there were no significant differences between household income groups.
Across remoteness areas, there were no significant differences in the average number of dental visits (ranging from 2.27 to 2.39), number of extractions (0.21 to 0.74) or the number of fillings (0.53 to 0.84) received in the past 12 months. Those in Major cities had higher rates of scale and clean services than those in other regions.
There was no significant difference in the average number of visits in the previous 12 months between insured and uninsured people (2.37 compared to 2.32), although insured people had a lower rate of extractions and fillings, and received more scale and clean services (1.09 compared to 0.68).
Preventing tooth decay in children
Decay in permanent teeth can be prevented by a common and effective practice known as fissure sealing. A resin or glass-ionomer (cement) material is applied to fill the pits and grooves of permanent teeth (usually molars), sealing them to prevent build-up of bacteria and plaque.
In 2006, children aged 6–15 with some decay in their permanent teeth were more likely to have a fissure sealant than children without decay in all other age groups. This may reflect a tendency towards using fissure sealants as a preventative measure on children more likely to develop decay.
Avoiding hospital
Early intervention can help keep people with oral disease out of hospital. Potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPHs) separation rates (rates of completed occurrences of care) for oral health conditions can be an indication of access to dental care.
In 2009–10, the total number of potentially preventable hospitalisations related to oral health conditions was 60,251 or 2.8 separations per 1,000 people. Children aged 5–9 had the highest rate (12,291 separations, or 9 separations per 1,000 children aged 5–9), followed by children aged 0–4 (7,681, or 5.3 per 1,000 children aged 0–4).
The age-standardised rate ranged from 1.8 separations per 1,000 people in the Australian Capital Territory, to 3.6 per 1,000 in Western Australia.
Across remoteness areas, the rate of potentially preventable hospitalisations due to dental conditions was lowest for Major cities (2.6) and highest for Very remote areas (3.7).
Further information
See chapters 3 and 4 in Oral health and dental care in Australia: key facts and figures 2011