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. 2022 Feb;232(3):164-171.
doi: 10.1038/s41415-022-3886-6. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Urgent dental care use in the North East and Cumbria: predicting repeat attendance

Charlotte Currie  1 , Simon Stone  2 , Mark Pearce  3 , David Landes  4 , Justin Durham  2
Affiliations

Urgent dental care use in the North East and Cumbria: predicting repeat attendance

Charlotte Currie et al. Br Dent J. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

Introduction Around one-third of the UK population are 'problem-orientated dental attenders', only seeking care when suffering with dental pain and often on a repeated basis to secondary care. Little is known about attendance in primary care. The aim here was to examine the period prevalence of repeat urgent care attenders and establish predictors of repeat attendance in primary care.Methods Data on urgent and emergency dental care attendances in primary dental care in the North East and Cumbria were analysed from 2013-2019. Variables included: patient sex; ten-year age band; lower super output area; and Index of Multiple Deprivation. Period prevalence was calculated and data were considered year by year to identify trends in attendances. Analysis was with descriptive statistics and predictors of repeat attendance were identified using logistic regression modelling.Results Over the six-year period, there were 601,432 attendances for urgent primary dental care, equating to a period prevalence of 2.76% for the geographic population studied. In total, 16.15% of attendances were repeat attendances (period prevalence 0.45%) and predictors included being a woman and residence in deprived and rural areas. All urgent care attendances decreased over the six-year period, with one-off attendances beginning to increase again in 2019, while repeat attendances stabilised.Conclusion Interventions to encourage regular dental attendances should be targeted at patients from the most deprived and rural areas of the North East and Cumbria; however, a decrease in repeat attendance was noted in these areas.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Urgent care attendances by MSOA. a) All urgent care attendances. b) Repeat urgent care attendances. Mapping software was obtained from www.localhealth.org.uk, Public Health England
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Number of attendances over the six-year period shown as prevalence to take in account changes in population size. a) All urgent care attendances. b) Repeat urgent care attendances
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Number of attendances over the six-year period shown as a prevalence for the North East compared to Cumbria. a) All urgent care attendances. b) Repeat urgent care attendances
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Relationship between IMD quintile and rurality for repeat attenders
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Number of repeat attenders over time by IMD quintile
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Paediatric urgent dental care.
    Mamdani S, Pathak D, Bhujel N. Mamdani S, et al. Br Dent J. 2022 Apr;232(8):491-492. doi: 10.1038/s41415-022-4208-8. Br Dent J. 2022. PMID: 35459806 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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