The presenting complaints of low income adults for emergency dental care : an analysis of 35,000 episodes in Victoria, Australia

Objective This study examined the mix of presenting problems faced by a large diverse dental service treating low-income Australian adults and provides a basis for communities to understand and manage demand for dental services. Design A retrospective analysis in a state-wide multi-centre dental health service. Data for all patients (in all public adult dental clinics in the state of Victoria during May-Aug 2005) who used the emergency services in a 12 week period were recorded and analysed. A triage question tree was developed and embedded into a neural network based computer triage tool. Results Approximately 52% of low income adults presenting for emergency treatment required treatment on the day of triage. The main problem was with natural teeth (89.6%). Of those with natural teeth problems, 41.3% had pain disturbing their sleep patterns and 14.7% had experienced a swelling. Metropolitan patients accessed the services 2.3 times more than rural patients. Conclusion These data clearly highlight that there is significant opportunity to reduce nearly 48% of on-day demand for emergency dental care through the application of appropriately clinical based triage.