Oral Health of Health Cardholders

The latest dental research paper from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare looks at the oral health of health cardholders. Entitled Oral health of health cardholders attending for dental care in the private and public sectors, research by Assoc. Prof. D S Brennan revealed:

• Cardholders that visited privately had similar numbers of teeth present compared with those that visited the public sector, with the exception being higher numbers of teeth among people aged 65 years or older who last visited privately compared with the public sector.
• No differences in caries experience were evident by place of last visit among cardholders who last visited for a check-up. However, among cardholders who last visited for a dental problem, those who visited the public sector had more decayed teeth overall, and those aged 65 years or older had more missing teeth but fewer filled teeth, compared with those who last visited in the private sector.
• There was no significant difference in the prevalence of periodontal pockets of 4 mm or more by place of last visit either for those who last visited for a check-up or for those who last visited for a dental problem.
• Among those who visited for a check-up, a higher percentage of cardholders who visited in the public sector received extractions in the 35–44 years age group compared with those who visited privately.