Downer M C, Nordling H, Blinkhorn A S, Koistinen A
Int Dent J. 1985 Sep;35(3):226-31.
A comparison was undertaken of dental care for children in Edinburgh and Helsinki. The evaluation centred upon an epidemiological investigation of the dental health of children in the 5-, 12- and 15-year age groups. This was performed by examiners using standardized procedures who were drawn from both countries. They employed an established system of data recording and processing (SPEED). Using these data, and background information from official and other sources, an assessment was made of the effectiveness, adequacy, efficiency and appropriateness of the services. Children's dental health, particularly in the youngest age group, was generally better in Helsinki than in Edinburgh as were both the population coverage and extent to which disease was controlled. However, the services in Edinburgh were marginally the more economically efficient. This arose from their being provided mainly by independent contractors working under a fee per item of service rather than by a public salaried system. In neither city was the delivery of dental services supplemented by water fluoridation nor was extensive use made of auxiliary personnel. The decrease in caries prevalence in recent years has profound implications for the dental services in both countries. It calls for continuing re-appraisal of present policies on expenditure, manpower, dental education and ways of delivering dental care.
对爱丁堡和赫尔辛基儿童的牙科护理进行了比较。评估集中于对5岁、12岁和15岁年龄组儿童牙齿健康的流行病学调查。这一调查由来自两国的检查人员采用标准化程序进行。他们采用了既定的数据记录和处理系统（SPEED）。利用这些数据以及来自官方和其他来源的背景信息，对服务的有效性、充足性、效率和适宜性进行了评估。儿童的牙齿健康状况，尤其是最年幼年龄组的情况，在赫尔辛基总体上比在爱丁堡更好，人口覆盖率和疾病控制程度也是如此。然而，爱丁堡的服务在经济效率上略胜一筹。这是因为其服务主要由按每项服务收费工作的独立承包商提供，而非公共薪资体系。在这两个城市，牙科服务的提供都没有通过水氟化进行补充，也没有广泛使用辅助人员。近年来龋齿患病率的下降对两国的牙科服务都有着深远影响。这就要求持续重新评估当前在支出、人力、牙科教育和提供牙科护理方式方面的政策。
