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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral health and its impact among adults: A cross-sectional study
P J Schluter1,2, D A Askew3,4, G K Spurling3,4
1University of Canterbury - Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, School of Health Sciences, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Background:
Robust oral health epidemiological information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults is scant. Set within a large urban population, this study describes self-reported oral health behaviours, status and impact assessed through computerized health checks (HC), stratified by age groups and sex, and identifies associations with dental appearance satisfaction.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults (aged ≥20 years) attending the Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2015 who had HC and provided research consent.
Results:
There were 945 patients, 466 (49.3%) female, with an average age of 41.3 years (range, 20-82). Overall, 97.3% owned a toothbrush and 56.2% brushed two or more times/day. Despite self-reporting a significant oral health burden, only 28.8% visited a dentist within 12 months, mostly due to problems (84.3%). Surprisingly, only 28.4% reported dental appearance dissatisfaction, likely a result of community normalization whereby people are resigned to poor oral health.
Conclusions:
Under-utilization of dental services remains problematic for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. To close the oral heath gap, culturally appropriate, acceptable and safe integrated primary health systems, with co-located dental services, demand consideration.
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