title: Will improving access to dental care improve oral health-related quality of life?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to determine if Australian Defence Force (ADF) members had better oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) than the general Australian population and whether the difference was due to better access to dental care.
  
  
  METHODS
  The OHRQoL, as measured by OHIP-14 summary indicators, of participants from the Defence Deployed Solomon Islands (SI) Health Study and the National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004-06 (NSAOH) were compared. The SI sample was age/gender status-adjusted to match that of the NSAOH sample which was age/gender/regional location weighted to that of the Australian population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NSAOH respondents with good access to dental care had lower OHIP-14 summary measures [frequency of impacts 8.5% (95% CI = 5.4, 11.6), extent mean = 0.16 (0.11, 0.22), severity mean = 5.0 (4.4, 5.6)] than the total NSAOH sample [frequency 18.6 (16.6, 20.7); extent 0.52 (0.44, 0.59); severity 7.6 (7.1, 8.1)]. The NSAOH respondents with both good access to dental care and self-reported good general health did not have as low OHIP-14 summary scores as in the SI sample [frequency 2.6 (1.2, 5.4), extent 0.05 (0.01, 0.10); severity 2.6 (1.9, 3.4)].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ADF members had better OHRQoL than the general Australian population, even those with good access to dental care and self-reported good general health.
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, School of Dentistry, The University of Adelaide, South Australia. leonard.crocombe@adelaide.edu.au
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Crocombe
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003729:Dental Care / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D009909:Oral Health / Q000592:standards*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult