Oral Health Clinical Indicator

Endorsed by the Australian Dental Association, we welcome the release of the Oral Health Clinical Indicator.

ACHS welcomes the release of the Oral Health Clinical Indicators version five, which has been supported and endorsed by the Australian Dental Association (ADA). The Working Party for the review of this set was led by Dr Martin Webb from the ADA and representatives from the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, Chief Dental Officers, national dental healthcare providers, and Consumer representatives. 

The updates to the set include removal of the indicators for review of bite-wing radiographs due to the difficult nature of assessing imagery to the criteria, tightening of criteria for responding to complications, and a new indicator to reduce the rate of root canal retreatments with 12 months. Two new indicators for monitoring children’s oral health were added in the areas of fissure sealant treatment and an indicator to reduce use of general anaesthesia for oral health in children. A new area of preventative services was added to monitor the rates of preventative treatment provided at oral examination. 

These updates have been well timed with the release by the ADA of the new edition of the Australian Schedule for Dental Services (13th) which means that almost all the indicators can be collected via an automated query process of the codes under the schedule. This will allow for easier submission by ACHS members. This new set is available on our website in the resources section and will be able to be reported from the start of 2023. 

For any questions or queries about this set or access to clinical indicator resources, please contacted the Performance and Outcomes Service team at POS@achs.org.au