For the service as a whole, a more realistic approach to workforce planning Is needed. It is not a question simply of the number of dentists or the number of support staff they employ. To examine regular and irregular dental attendance of children under the dental capitation registration system in England. Research design and setting An ecological study based on the 100 English health authorities. Conclusions Capitation registration and capitation lapses are related to socio-economic deprivation.
Lapse rates are higher in areas with fewer dentists.
Regular dental attendance allows receipt of preventive dental advice, presymptomatic treatment and emergency treatment whereas irregular attenders mainly receive emergency treatment. Attempts to narrow the dental health gap may require a separate approach to regular and irregular attenders. Despite good availability of emergency dental care for children capitation may widen dental health inequalities. In the North West of England the health trusts hold a variety of intertrust audits. In the oral health promotion audit group a variety of dental service managers, clinical community dentists and oral health promoters met on two occasions to audit the dental health education resources they had developed and used frequently.