ACCESSIBILITY OF AND CLIENT SATISFACTION WITH DENTAL SERVICES IN MELBOURNE

Public dental clinics play an important role in delivering dental serv ices to Australian adults on low incomes. Our objective was to compare the accessibility of and client satisfaction with the two main types of public dental service providers in Victoria and with private practi ce services. Clients attending the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, Northcote Community Health Centre and private practices in Melbourne were surveyed. The hospital's clients faced the greatest ecological an d organisational obstacles, while private clients faced the greatest f inancial and desirability obstacles. Community centre clients faced fe wer ecological and organisational obstacles than hospital clients, wit h the exception of long waiting times. Private practice clients were m ore satisfied overall, and had better continuity of care. Private prac tice clients were more satisfied with access, availability and conveni ence than community centre clients, who in turn were more satisfied th an hospital clients. There was no distinction between private practice and hospital clients oil satisfaction with 'pain and treatment', but community centre clients were less satisfied. There was no significant difference between client group evaluations of interaction with the d entist. Regardless of the effects of the Commonwealth Dental Health Pr ogram, distinctions between various service types and public clinic ty pes are likely to remain, because of their different settings. The con trast between a central hospital and a community health centre, in ter ms of the ecological and organisational obstacles to care, points to t he advantages of putting dental services close to the communities they serve.