Professionally defined dental treatment needs of middle-aged and older patients attending 21 general practitioners, as related to tooth retention

Data from routine examinations of 497 45–89 year old patients attending 21 South Australian general dental practitioners showed a positive association of the degree of tooth retention with the frequency of dental visits, the seeking of care for a check-up or preventive service (as opposed to a curative service) and professionally defined needs for prophylaxes and restorative care, particularly complex restorative care. Degree of tooth retention among dentate subjects was negatively related to the need for extractions, especially extractions for periodontal reasons, and to the need for denture services. The importance of using data from general dental practices as well as population-based surveys when assessing workforce requirements and when reviewing the appropriate content of undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes has been emphasized.