Dental visits in early life: patterns and barriers among Australian children

Objectives: To determine the early dental service utilisation patterns among Australian children and investigate barriers to care. Method: Randomly selected adults aged 18 years and older who were parents or caregivers of children under 18 years of age completed an online nationally representative cross-sectional survey which was then analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total 2,048 parents of 3,660 children, including 1,179 aged between one and six years, completed the survey. Utilisation of professional dental care was low among children under six years of age, with just 118 (27.3%) at one year of age having ever received professional dental care. The most frequently reported reasons for lack of professional dental care were that the child was too young, their teeth were healthy or that the child would be scared. Cost was the fourth most frequently reported reason in young children. Only 459 (22.4%) parents knew that the first dental visit should be at one year of age or earlier. Conclusions: Parents are unaware that children should have their first dental visit at 12 months, and therefore most children miss out on essential early health promotion. Implications for public health: As many parents are unaware of the importance of early dental visits, integrating and strengthening oral health promotion screening and referral within broader early childhood health services is essential.