Dental care in small remote towns in Queensland

Objectives: To investigate the views and experiences of non-dental care providers with oral health service provision in Queensland rural/remote communities that do not have a resident dentist.
Methods: Thirty-five primary and four dental care providers in four remote communities in outback Queensland were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Content and thematic data analysis was undertaken using Nvivo. 10.
Results: In the absence of a resident dentist, rural and remote residents presented to non-dental primary care providers with oral health problems such as toothache, abscess, oral/gum infection and sore mouth for treatment and advice. Themes emerged from the interview data around communication challenges and strategies to improve oral health. Although, non-dental care providers commonly advised patients to see a dentist, they rarely communicated with the dentist in the nearest regional town. Participants proposed that oral health could be improved by: enabling access to dental practitioners, educating communities on preventive oral health care and building the skills and knowledge base of non-dental primary care providers in the field of oral health.
Conclusions: Prevention is a cornerstone to better oral health in rural and remote communities. Strategies to improve the provision of dental services by visiting or resident dental practitioners should include community based oral health promotion activities and closer engagement with other primary care service providers in the small communities.