Rates of dental service provision between capital city and non-capital locations in Australian private general practice.

Variations in service provision between geographical locations may be associated with factors such as imbalances in the availability of health services. The aim of this analysis was to examine differences in dental service provision between capital city and non-capital locations. Data were used from a survey collected in 1993/94 from a random sample of Australian dentists, providing 817 responses (a response rate of 74%). Dentists from capital city locations comprised 71.8% of responding private general practitioners. Significantly more services per visit (Mann-Whitney, P < 0.05) were provided at capital city locations (mean = 2.16, 95% CI = 2.08-2.24) compared to non-capital locations (mean = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.74-1.94). Controlling for age of patient, insurance status and visit type, capital city locations included significantly higher rates of service per visit (P < 0.05) for adult dentate patients (rate ratios, 95% CI) of diagnostic (1.17, 1.09-1.25), preventive (1.20, 1.09-1.32), periodontal (2.71, 1.72-4.26), and crown and bridge (1.25, 1.03-1.53) services, but lower rates of prosthodontic (0.80, 0.67-0.94) services compared to non-capital locations. These findings indicate that compared to non-capital locations, capital city patients received care that was more orientated towards prevention and maintenance of teeth, rather than replacement by dentures.