Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Analysis of attendance rates at Soweto dental clinics 1995-2002
B N Harkinson1, P E Cleaton-Jones
1Medical Research Council and University of the Witwatersrand Dental Research Institute, Wits, South Africa.
Background:
Patient attendance rates at Soweto dental clinics increased during the year after the implementation of free primary oral health care in 1995.
Objective:
This study was performed to examine if the attendance rates continued to increase between April 1995 and March 2002.
Materials And Methods:
Monthly clinic records were used to record casual (pain and sepsis treatment) and booked patient attendance (restorative, prosthetic and orthodontic treatment) and number of dental operators in the nine primary health care clinics and one hospital clinic in Soweto. Data were analysed with SAS and Prism software.
Results:
Total patient attendances in the primary health care clinics significantly increased from 6,161 in 1995 to 10,519 in 2002 (P<0.05) due to an increase in casual patients Booked patients decreased and patients treated per operator increased. In the hospital clinic the casual patient attendances decreased but booked patients significantly increased (P<0.005).
Conclusions:
Patient attendance rates increased between 1995 and 2002 with an increase in dental operator workload.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin and...
01:21Tooth Anatomy
The Crown, Neck, and Root
The visible part of the tooth is referred to as the crown. It's covered by enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. The crown is uniquely shaped for each type of tooth, allowing for different functions such as cutting, tearing, or grinding food.