Thousands of people are being recruited for a $5.8 million national oral health study.

People in New South Wales and Victoria are being encouraged to take part in dental interviews and free dental examinations as part of the National Study of Adult Oral Health 2017–2018, the first major study of its kind in Australia for more than a decade.

The research will assess the level of oral diseases among Australian adults, and the effectiveness, sustainability and equity of dental service delivery across the country.

Up to 15,000 Australians aged 15 years and over are expected to take part in the study conducted by the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) at the University of Adelaide – in partnership with national and state departments of health and dental services.

Researchers have recently commenced their work in South Australia and will now move into NSW and Victoria, where members of the community will be selected at random to take part in the study.

“We've been incredibly happy with the support of the community in South Australia, with a high participation rate and more than 1500 people interviewed for the study so far. We expect to see that number spike when participants from New South Wales and Victoria take part in the study over the coming weeks and months,” says chief investigator Professor Marco Peres.

“It's critical that we understand the changes in dental health among adult Australians, and the quality, prevalence and accessibility of services they receive. We expect that people in New South Wales and Victoria – in both metropolitan and rural areas – will make a major contribution to the findings of our study.”

Professor Peres says the study will inform government policy-makers and dental service providers about the delivery of fair and effective dental services for all Australians over the next decade and more.

“Importantly, the results of our study will directly impact on the dental care people receive in the community, which will also affect quality of life,” he said.

More information is available here.