Explanations for socioeconomic inequality in oral health are informed by understanding the distribution of oral conditions in society. Objective: To investigate the shape of the socioeconomic-oral health distribution using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status and equivalised household income. Methods: Cross-sectional self-report data were collected by questionnaire in 2003 from adults aged 43-57 years […]

Dental busyness has been used as a convenient indicator of the productivity of a dental practice. Yet, little is known as to how stable this indicator is over time or how it relates to the productivity of dental practices. Objectives: To examine busyness in dental practice, its trends over time and association with productivity among […]

Background: Dental service utilisation is an important parameter in oral health care planning and provides information on accessibility of dental services. Objectives: To examine longitudinal patterns of dental service use among South Australian public dental patients. Methods: Public dental patients (n=898) initially receiving an emergency or general course of care at baseline were followed for […]

Objective: To describe oral health inequalities among Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in the Northern Territory of Australia using an area-based measure of socio-economic status (SES). Methods: Data were obtained from Indigenous and non-Indigenous 4-13-year-old children enrolled in the Northern Territory School Dental Service in 2002-2003. The Socio-Economic Indices For Areas (SEIFA) were used to determine […]

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 […]