December 2021

Aim: To develop a utilisation profile for oral examinations performed under the remit of publicly financed dental services in the Republic of Ireland as a proxy for the overall level of service use. Basic research design: Collation of data from multiple administrative datasets for 2018, and generation of an age-specific oral examination utilisation profile. Main outcome measure: Age-specific oral examination rates per 1,000 population. Results: A total of 1,163,399 publicly financed oral examinations were performed. Comparably low population-adjusted oral examination rates were observed in the 0-15, 16-24 and 75+ age cohorts. Conclusions: The National Oral Health Policy in Ireland aims to improve access to oral healthcare services across the life-course. Young children and older adults are highlighted as population subgroups with low levels of service eligibility and engagement, respectively. These results reinforce the need to focus on these age cohorts. Keywords: Dental care, dental health services, community dentistry, oral examination