With great variations in oral care from the cities on its coasts to the vast reaches of the Outback, Australia faces significant challenges in treating its residents. Currently, its government is debating different federal approaches to providing that care. In the meanwhile, it needs data.
The Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) at the University of Adelaide is stepping in with the National Study of Adult Oral Health. This $5.8 million undertaking will interview and provide free dental examinations to 15,000 nationwide.
Scheduled for 2016 through 2018, the study will chart the occurrence of oral diseases in the adult population and the effectiveness, equity, and sustainability of dental service delivery across the country. It also will monitor the 5,500 participants in the previous national study, conducted a decade ago.
“Oral diseases are among the 4 most expensive disease groups to treat and highly prevalent among adult Australians, particularly among those who can least afford treatment,” said chief investigator Marco Peres, professor of population oral health at the University of Adelaide and director of ARCPOH.
“Oral disease compromises both general health and quality of life, but the high cost of dental care, unlike general medical care, is largely borne by the individual,” Peres said. “This makes it almost unattainable for disadvantaged groups in society. We must establish how best to deliver dental healthcare that is effective and equitable for the whole adult population.”
The government currently provides care under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. The Coalition Government, which is now in power, proposes replacing that program with the Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme. Peres said the study will inform these policy-makers and play a vital role in “decisions about the delivery of fair and effective dental services for all Australians over the next decade and more.”
The study will be funded under a National Health and Medical Research Council Partnerships for Better Health grant, with additional contributions from groups like the Australian Dental Association, Colgate, and federal, state, and territory health departments.
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