Kruger Estie, Perera Irosha, Tennant Marc
The Centre for Rural and Remote Oral Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Aust J Prim Health. 2010;16(4):291-5. doi: 10.1071/PY10028.
Australians living in rural and remote areas have poorer access to dental care. This situation is attributed to workforce shortages, limited facilities and large distances to care centres. Against this backdrop, rural and remote Indigenous (Aboriginal) communities in Western Australia seem to be more disadvantaged because evidence suggests they have poorer oral health than non-Indigenous people. Hence, provision of dental care for Aboriginal populations in culturally appropriate settings in rural and remote Western Australia is an important public health issue. The aim of this research was to compare services between the Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS)-based clinics and a typical rural community clinic. A retrospective analysis of patient demographics and clinical treatment data was undertaken among patients who attended the dental clinics over a period of 6 years from 1999 to 2004. The majority of patients who received dental care at AMS dental clinics were Aboriginal (95.3%), compared with 8% at the non-AMS clinic. The rate of emergency at the non-AMS clinic was 33.5%, compared with 79.2% at the AMS clinics. The present study confirmed that more Indigenous patients were treated in AMS dental clinics and the mix of dental care provided was dominated by emergency care and oral surgery. This indicated a higher burden of oral disease and late utilisation of dental care services (more focus on tooth extraction) among rural and remote Indigenous people in Western Australia.
生活在澳大利亚农村和偏远地区的居民获得牙科护理的机会较少。这种情况归因于劳动力短缺、设施有限以及到护理中心的距离较远。在此背景下，西澳大利亚州农村和偏远地区的原住民社区似乎更加弱势，因为有证据表明他们的口腔健康状况比非原住民更差。因此，在西澳大利亚州农村和偏远地区以符合文化习惯的方式为原住民提供牙科护理是一个重要的公共卫生问题。本研究的目的是比较基于原住民医疗服务（AMS）的诊所和典型农村社区诊所之间的服务情况。对1999年至2004年期间在牙科诊所就诊的患者的人口统计学和临床治疗数据进行了回顾性分析。在AMS牙科诊所接受牙科护理的大多数患者是原住民（95.3%），而非AMS诊所的这一比例为8%。非AMS诊所的急诊率为33.5%，而AMS诊所为79.2%。本研究证实，在AMS牙科诊所接受治疗的原住民患者更多，所提供的牙科护理组合以急诊护理和口腔外科为主。这表明西澳大利亚州农村和偏远地区的原住民口腔疾病负担较重，且牙科护理服务的利用较晚（更侧重于拔牙）。
