Little is known of the natural history of dry mouth among older people, because very little information is available on changes in dry mouth over time among population-based samples. Objectives: To describe changes in dry mouth over a 6-year period among older S outh Australian males and females. Methods: Prospective cohort study of people aged […]

Background: Fluorosis prevalence requires monitoring to evaluate population preventive programs and update guidelines on fluoride use. Objective: To examine population prevalence and risk factors of fluorosis among South Australian (SA) children. Methods: A random sample of SA children born in 1989-1994, stratified by fluoridation status and urban/rural residence, was selected in 2002/2003 to form three […]

Introduction: Socio-economic status (SES) has been shown to be related to both general health and oral health. Most studies investigating SES have examined individual-level determinants however there has been a growing trend in the use of area-based SES measures. Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the relationship between oral health and a number of […]

Fluoride use among children involves balancing between protection against caries and risk of fluorosis. Policy guiding fluoride exposures to reduce fluorosis experience may have an adverse effect of increasing caries experience. Objective: To identify appropriate measures to control fluoride exposure by examining associations of changes in fluoride exposure with fluorosis and caries. Methods: A random sample of […]

Objectives: This study aimed to describe both the prevalence of dental fear in Australia and to explore the relationship between dental fear and a number of socio-demographic, oral health and provider preference variables. Methods: The study used a telephone interviewing survey with interviews predominantly conducted in 2002. A random sample of 7,312 Australian residents, aged five years […]

Identifying population groups with behavioural risk factors for oral and general health has implications for an integrated approach to health promotion. While it is widely recognised that risk behaviours for general health tend to cluster among individuals, it is less clear whether risk behaviours for oral health co-occur among these same individuals. OBJECTIVES: The objectives […]

Dental labour force collections attempt complete enumeration but response rates vary from as low as 45% to over 90%. In these collections labour force participation (LFP) of non-respondents must be imputed. If respondents to the survey differ in their LFP from non-respondents, biased estimates may be obtained. The aims of this study were: 1) to […]

Social gradients in oral disease and self-reported oral health have been documented among Australian adults. The poorer oral health of lower socioeconomic position adults is frequently attributed to poorer performance of preventive dental health behaviours. However, whether such behaviours show similar social gradients has not been extensively researched. The aim of this study was to […]

While the service pattern of oral and maxillofacial surgeons has been dominated by dentoalveolar surgery, the recent trend towards dual dental and medical qualifications may be associated with changes in service patterns. The aims of this study were to describe main areas of service between 1990 and 2000, and to compare main areas of service […]

Previously we have reported that existing methods accounting for examiner error in longitudinal caries studies can bias estimates of caries risk. Objective: to evaluate the validity of a proposed correction factor for Beck probability-based adjustment (ADJ) of examiner errors (Beck et al., 1995) in a sample of children at high risk of caries. Methods: secondary […]