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released: 1 Jun 2009 author: AIHW Dental Statistics and Research Unit

Health cardholders who visit a public dentist have a similar level of oral health and receive similar dental care as those who visit a private dentist. This publication presents findings on health cardholders attending for dental care in the private and public sector using data from the National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004-06. Health cardholders such as age pensioners and the unemployed have government entitlement cards and are eligible for public dental care. But while dental health and care was similar for those using either public or private dentists, this may reflect a general level of disadvantage common to all cardholders. Where differences did exist, the differences consistently involved either poorer oral health status or less desirable service patterns for those who visited the public sector compared to the private sector.

ISSN 978 1 74024 888 4; ISBN 1321-0254; Cat. no. DEN 196; 36pp.; $20

printed copy

Oral health of health cardholders attending for dental care in the private and public sectors

Dental statistics and research series no. 50

Full publication

Publication table of contents

  • Preliminary material
    • Title and verso pages
    • Contents
    • Acknowledgments
    • Abbreviations
    • Symbols
    • Summary (HTML)
  • Body section
    1. Introduction
      • Public dental services
      • Information on adult public dental patients
    2. Methods
      • Sampling and data collection
      • Analysis and weighting
      • Data items
    3. Response
      • Overall response
      • Response among health cardholders that had made a dental visit within the last year
    4. Oral health status of patients
      • Number of teeth
      • Caries experience
      • Periodontal disease
    5. Service provision
      • Fillings
      • Extractions
    6. Discussion
      • Interpretational issues
      • Main findings
      • Conclusions
  • End matter
    • Appendix A: Data tables
    • References
    • List of tables
    • List of figures

Recommended citation

AIHW Dental Statistics and Research Unit 2009. Oral health of health cardholders attending for dental care in the private and public sectors. Dental statistics and research series 50. Cat. no. DEN 196. Canberra: AIHW.