Studies from University of Adelaide Reveal New Findings on Dentistry (Dental insurance, service use and health outcomes in Australia: a systematic…

Health & Medicine Week

Studies from University of Adelaide Reveal New Findings on Dentistry (Dental insurance, service use and health outcomes in Australia: a systematic review)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Data detailed on Dentistry have been presented. According to news reporting originating from Adelaide, Australia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "Private health insurance plays a key role in financing dental care in Australia. Having private dental insurance has been associated with higher levels of access to dental care, visiting for a check-up and receiving a favourable pattern of services."

Financial support for this research came from National Health and Medical Research Council (see also Dentistry).

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Adelaide, "Associations with better oral health have also been reported. In the absence of any existing review, this paper aims to systematically review the relationship between dental insurance and dental service use and/or oral health outcomes in Australia. A systematic search of online databases and subsequent sifting resulted in 36 publications, 33 of which were cross sectional and three cohort analyses. Dental service outcomes were more commonly reported than oral health outcomes. There was considerable heterogeneity in the outcome measures reported, for both service use and health outcomes. Overall, the majority of the evidence was from cross sectional studies and few studies reported analyses adjusted for confounding factors. The consolidated evidence points towards a positive association between dental insurance and dental visiting. Dentally insured adults are likely to have more regular access to dental care and have a more favourable pattern of service use than the uninsured."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "However, evidence of associations between dental insurance and oral health are mixed."

For more information on this research see: Dental insurance, service use and health outcomes in Australia: a systematic review. Australian Dental Journal, 2017;():. Australian Dental Journal can be contacted at: Blackwell Publishing Inc, 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; Australian Dental Journal - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1834-7819)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting E.S. Gnanamanickam, Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, Adelaide Dental School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Additional authors for this research include D.N. Teusner, P.G. Arrow and D.S Brennan.

Publisher contact information for the Australian Dental Journal is: Blackwell Publishing Inc, 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

Keywords for this news article include: Adelaide, Dentistry, Article Review, Australia and New Zealand.