AN ASSESSMENT OF CAPITATION IN THE GENERAL DENTAL SERVICE CONTRACT .1. THE LEVEL OF CARIES AND ITS TREATMENT IN REGULARLY ATTENDING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
Pj. Holloway et al., AN ASSESSMENT OF CAPITATION IN THE GENERAL DENTAL SERVICE CONTRACT .1. THE LEVEL OF CARIES AND ITS TREATMENT IN REGULARLY ATTENDING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS, British Dental Journal, 182(11), 1997, pp. 418-423
Objective To assess the dental health of regularly attending 7-8- and
14-15-year-olds registered under capitation in 1994. To compare the de
ntal health of regularly attending 14-15-year-olds registered under ca
pitation in 1994 with regularly attending patients of a similar age tr
eated under fee-for-service in 1989. Design Random samples of 7-8- and
14-15-year-olds. Data were recorded on decayed and filled teeth, teet
h extracted for caries and teeth fissure sealed. Results Prevalence of
caries in first permanent molars of 7-8-year-olds was 15-16%. Mean ca
ries experience of deciduous posterior teeth was 1.78-2.51. 83-86% had
no more than two untreated, decayed, posterior deciduous teeth. Preva
lence of caries in 14-15-year-olds was 44-609/0 while mean caries expe
rience was 1.29-1.83. Reductions in caries experience of 30-39% in 14-
15-year-olds for 1989-1994 were due mainly to falls of 42-45% in mean
numbers of teeth filled. Increases in mean numbers of decayed, untreat
ed teeth were 0.07-0.11. The proportion of patients with teeth extract
ed because of caries was 2.4-3.8%. 35-50% had fissure sealants in 1994
compared with 13-25% in 1989. Conclusions Dental health of regularly
attending capitation patients is generally satisfactory with little ev
idence of 'supervised neglect'. Prevalence of fissure sealants has inc
reased while the numbers of filled teeth has reduced. Numbers of decay
ed, untreated teeth have increased but the numbers of teeth extracted
for caries have remained low.