CLINICAL-QUALITY ASSURANCE INDICATORS FOR ORAL STATUS AND TREATMENT OF A GROUP OF OLDER ADULTS

Objective To record and comment on the oral status and treatment provi sion over a 3-year period for a group of 150 patients aged between 50 and 64 with special reference to the WHO(ORATEL) quality assurance ind icators. Design 150 patients in the defined age group who were attendi ng a general dental practitioner for a routine examination were sample d over a 3-month period. The oral status was recorded by the GDP at th e time of attendance and a retrospective analysis of treatment provide d over three years was carried out by reference to the patient case no tes. Results An analysis of the data relating to oral health status an d previous treatment provision suggested that some indicators were eas y to accurately record while others lacked clear diagnostic criteria. There were also some inconsistencies in format. There was a lack of co verage in a few important areas and some additional indicators were su ggested. Conclusions The ORATEL indicators form a useful core dataset for GDPs to use to measure oral health change within the patient base of their practices. The recording and analysis of quality assurance in dicators by the GDP could make a significant contribution to the monit oring of the oral health change of patients in general dental practice .