Hours worked and patient visits provided by dentists in Australia

Background

The aim was to examine the numbers of hours worked and patient visits provided by age and gender of dentists in Australia, and compare with previous estimates to describe trends.

Methods

Data were collected from a random sample (N = 2961) of Australian dentists. Private sector dentists working in clinical practise were included in the analysis.

Results

The response rate was 49% (N = 1345 dentists). Hours per year worked and number of patient visits per year were lower for dentists aged 65 years and older compared with younger dentists, and were higher for male compared with female dentists aged 35–45 to 55–64 years. Hours per year worked were lower in 2013–2014 than reported in 2009–2010, but the number of patient visits in 2013–2014 was similar to the previously reported estimate from 2009–2010.

Conclusions

Hours worked and visits provided were only lower among older dentists aged 65 years or more. Male dentists tend to work more hours per year and provide more patient visits per year than female dentists. Over the last decade, Australian dentists maintained a stable output of visits per year despite a trend towards fewer hours worked per year.     

Dental insurance,service use and health outcomes in Australia: a systematic review

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. 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. However, evidence of associations between dental insurance and oral health are mixed.     

Fractionated total-body irradiation and high-dose etoposide as a preparatory regimen for bone marrow transplantation for 94 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in chronic phase

Ninety-four consecutive patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in first clinical chronic phase, median age of 34.0 years (range, 6.8 to 52.4 years), with a histocompatible sibling donor, were treated with fractionated total body irradiation (1,320 cGy) and high-dose etoposide (60 mg/kg) followed by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The median time from diagnosis to BMT was 7.0 months (range, 2.3 to 72.0 months). Sixty patients were treated before BMT with hydroxyurea alone, four patients with busulfan alone, one patient with interferon alone, and the other 29 patients were treated with various combinations of these drugs. Cumulative probabilities of overall survival, event- free survival, and relapse at 5 years were 73%, 64%, and 14%, respectively. The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 38 months, ranging from 12 to 88 months. By stepwise Cox regression analysis, significant prognostic variables were age at transplant, acute graft-versus-host disease > or = grade II, cytomegalovirus- associated interstitial pneumonitis, and years from diagnosis to BMT.     

Central regulation of intestinal basal and stimulated water and ion transport by endogenous opiates in dogs

The influence of intracerebroventricular (ICV) vs intravenous (IV) administration of (D-Ala2, Met5) enkephalinamide (Dalamide) on normal and stimulated (cholera toxin) jejunal fluxes of water, Na+, and K+ were investigated in dogs prepared with a Thiry-Vella (TV) loop. Intestinal transport in the TV loop and concomitant transit time were measured during an infusion (2 ml/min) of an isotonic electrolyte solution alone, or containing 0.4 micrograms/ml of cholera toxin (CT). Basal net water absorption was slightly, but significantly (P less than 0.05), increased during an ICV infusion of Dalamide at 0.5 ng/kg/min, while the secretory effects of cholera toxin were markedly reduced by nearly 75%. Similar effects were observed for Na+ and K+ movement. In contrast, Dalamide infused intravenously at a five times higher dose, ie, 2.5 ng/kg/min did not affect the control and CT-stimulated water and electrolyte movements. The jejunal loop transit times were halved during CT infusion. Similar values were observed under Dalamide ICV administration as well as during a five times higher dose of Dalamide administered intravenously. It was concluded that (1) Dalamide administered into the CNS, but not peripherally, increased the absorption of water, Na+, and K+, causing a net reduction in their secretion induced by cholera toxin; and (2) these effects did not result from changes in transit time. These results also suggest that Met-enkephalin can act in the brain to affect the intestinal transport of water and electrolytes in dogs.