title: Regional use of the Australian Chronic Disease Dental Scheme.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a different number and type of services were provided in Australian regional areas under the Australian Government-funded Chronic Disease Dental Scheme (CDDS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of administrative payments data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients receiving dental services under the Medicare CDDS.
  
  
  METHODS
  The CDDS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Number and type of services.
  
  
  METHODS
  CDDS service categories Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) regions were collected by the Australian Department of Human Services between 2008 and 2013 and compared by Australian Bureau of Statistics ASGS estimated resident regional 2011 population, and by employed number of dentists, dental specialists and dental prosthetists from the 2011 National Health Workforce Dataset.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Number of services provided was greatest in major cities (79.0%), followed by inner regional (15.4%), outer regional (5.2%) and remote/very remote Australia (0.4%). Number of services per head of population decreased from 1.088 in major cities to 0.16 in remote/very remote areas. Number of services provided per dental practitioner showed minimal variation between major city (1672), inner (1777) and outer regional (1627) areas, but was lower in remote/very remote areas (641). Crown and bridge, periodontic, endodontic and removable prostheses per dental practitioner were most frequently supplied in the major cities, but restorative care and oral surgery were more frequently supplied in inner and outer regional areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of CDDS services provided declined with regional remoteness. There was a marked difference in the utilisation of the scheme between major cities and remote/very remote areas in both number and type of service levels.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Rural Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia; Oral Health Services Tasmania, Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kraatz
authors.forename: Daiyo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Ha
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.forename: Leonard A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Crocombe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Chronic Disease Dental Scheme; dental health; oral epidemiology; rural health; utilisation of health services