DENTAL-HEALTH CHANGES IN AN AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE FORCE POPULATION

The dental histories of 100 long-term members of the Royal Australian Air Force were obtained from their dental records. Data relating to de ntal health status, as measured by the DMF indices and the T-Health sc ores, were tested to determine if there were any correlations present between changes in dental health and certain risk factors which had be en identified by previous studies in the General Dental Service in Sco tland. These studies had demonstrated positive relationships between t he frequency of dental examination and the frequency with which patien ts changed their dentist, with the amount of dental treatment the pati ents received. However, within the potential limitations imposed by th e sample size, the present long-term study did not detect any signific ant associations between the frequencies of dental examination or chan ge of dentist, with changes in dental health.