The providers of dental services

There has been a rapid increase in the number of providers in dental services in Australia. The relative increase of dentists has been at a greater rate than that of the population. There has been a marked increase in the number of operating dental auxiliaries employed as school dental therapists in government services and of self-employed denturists. Employment of dental hygienists by private dental practitioners is still limited. The active dentist workforce is approximately 80 per cent of the number of dentists on the registers and about 82 per cent of the active dentist workforce has been maintained with an increase in the proportion of women and of specialists. The number of dental graduates from Australian universities appears adequate to meet population increases and the loss of dentists from the registers. A very high rate of new registration of overseas dentists has created some oversupply in the private practice sector. Emphasis should be placed on the Australian dental schools for the continuing supply of dental graduates, specialist and continuing education to meet the needs of the Australian community. There is an urgent need for co-ordination of relevant registration authorities through national schedules and for the collection of information concerning the disposition of the Australian dental workforce to enable continuing evaluation of present and future workforce requirements.