Objectives: To determine whether management of appointments for urgent dental care using a telephone-administered relative needs index (RNI) alters patient satisfaction and perceived oral health outcome compared with traditional subjective triage by receptionists. Methods: Using a cross-over study design, triage was monitored for four weeks followed by RNI screening for eight weeks at four public dental clinics. Study subjects were dentate, English-speaking patients seeking urgent dental care at the South Australian Dental Service. Following triage/screening, those deemed to have high priority were offered a single dental visit. A telephone interview was conducted with all subjects two weeks after triage/screening, to assess perceived oral health outcome (”Is your dental problem the same, better or worse than when you rang for care?”) and satisfaction (“On a scale of 0-10, how satisfied were you with the way your dental problem was handled?”). Additional questions asked if subjects received any dental care.
Results: At each clinic, the percentage of people reporting that their dental problem was the same/worse did not change after introduction of RNI screening ( Χ2 P>0.05). Among people who received any dental care, the percentage reporting same/worse dental health decreased (22.9% cf 18.0%, P<0.01) whereas the percentage increased (70.7% cf 78.8%, Χ2 P<0.01) for people who did not receive any dental care. Mean satisfaction score reduced significantly (7.82 during triage cf 7.30 during RNI screening, P<0.05) at all four clinics. Among people who received any dental care, there was no change in mean satisfaction score.
Conclusion: Perceived oral health outcome did not change overall with the introduction of the RNI screening system; however there was a reduction in satisfaction and perceived oral health worsened among those who did not receive any dental care. Supported by SADS and a University of Adelaide Health Sciences Scholarship.