Dentists, specialists and allied practitioners in Australia
Dental Labour Force Collection, 2006
M Balasubramanian
Research Officer
Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health
The University of Adelaide
DN Teusner
Research Officer
Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health
The University of Adelaide
2011

© Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is Australia’s national
health and welfare statistics and information agency. The Institute’s mission is
 better information and statistics for better health and wellbeing. 
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This publication is part of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Dental statistics and research series. A complete list of the Institute’s publications is available from the Institute’s website <www.aihw.gov.au>. 
ISSN 1321-0254
ISBN 978-1-74249-044-1
Suggested citation 
Balasubramanian M & Teusner DN 2011. Dentists, specialists and allied practitioners in Australia: Dental Labour Force Collection, 2006. Dental statistics and research series no. 53. Cat. no. DEN 202. Canberra: AIHW.
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Director 
David Kalisch

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Contents
Acknowledgments	5
Abbreviations	6
Abbreviations of places	6
Symbols	7
Summary	8
1	Introduction	9
1.1	Aim and objectives	9
1.2	Scope and data preparation	9
Estimation procedures	9
Imputation: estimation for item non-response	10
Weighting: estimation for population non-response	11
1.3	Report structure	11
2	Dentists	12
2.1	Method	12
2.2	Overall numbers	13
Over the decade	14
2.3	Demographic characteristics	14
2.4	Practice characteristics	15
Hours worked per week	15
Area of practice	15
Type of practice	16
2.5	Geographic distribution	18
Distribution across jurisdictions	18
Distribution across remoteness areas	21
3	Dental specialists	23
3.1	Method	23
3.2	Overall numbers	24
3.3	General characteristics of specialists	26
3.4	Specialist groups	28
Comparisons among specialist groups	28
Differences between specialists and general dental practitioners	29
4	Allied dental practitioners	32
4.1	Methods	32
4.2	Dental hygienists	34
Overall numbers	35
Demographic characteristics	35
Practice characteristics	36
Distribution by geographic classification	37

4.3	Dental therapists	39
Overall numbers	39
Demographic characteristics	40
Practice characteristics	40
Distribution by geographic classification	42
4.4	Oral health therapists	44
Overall numbers	44
Demographic characteristics	44
Practice characteristics	44
Distribution by geographic classification	46
4.5	Dental prosthetists	47
Overall numbers	47
Demographic characteristics	47
Practice characteristics	48
Distribution by geographic classification	52
5	Discussion	54
Appendix A: Data tables	56
A1	Dentist tables	56
A2	Specialist tables	80
A3	Dental hygienist tables	85
A4	Dental therapist tables	90
A5	Oral health therapist tables	95
A6	Dental prosthetist tables	100
Appendix B: Questionnaire	106
B1	Dentist labour force questionnaire	106
B2	Dental hygienist/therapist/dual practitioner questionnaire	106
B3	Dental prosthetists labour force questionnaire	106
Appendix C: Estimated resident population by state/territory and remoteness 
area, 2006	107
Appendix D: Publications from the national dental labour force data collections	108
Articles	108
Newsletters	108
Research Reports	109
Reports	109
References	110
List of boxes	112
List of tables	112
List of figures	115

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge state and territory health departments and dental boards for their participation in conducting the data collection. The authors also wish to thank Sergio Chrisopoulos and Beverly Ellis for their substantial contribution in data preparation and collection. Most importantly, we wish to acknowledge the support of the dentists and allied dental practitioners who participated in the annual data collection.
This research was funded by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 
Abbreviations
ABS		Australian Bureau of Statistics
ADA		Australian Dental Association
ADC		Australian Dental Council
ADPA		Australian Dental Prosthetists Association
ADTA		Australian Dental Therapists Association
AHMAC	Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council
AIHW		Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
AIHW DSRU	Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Dental Statistics and Research Unit
ARCPOH	Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health
ARIA		Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia
ASGC		Australian Standard Geographical Classification
CD		Census collection district
DEST		Department of Education, Science and Training
DHAA		Dental Hygienists’ Association of Australia
ERP		Estimated resident population
FTE		Full-time equivalent
GDP 		General dental practitioner
OHT		Oral health therapist
OMFS		Oral and maxillofacial surgery
SD		Statistical division
Abbreviations of places
ACT		Australian Capital Territory
Aust		Australia
NSW		New South Wales
NT		Northern Territory
Qld		Queensland
SA		South Australia
Tas		Tasmania
Vic		Victoria
WA		Western Australia
Symbols
%	percentage
—	zero or rounded to zero
n	number
. .	not applicable
n.a.	not available
Throughout this publication, data from the AIHW DSRU Dental Labour Force Surveys may not add to the totals shown due to the estimation process used for non-responses. 
Summary
The dental labour force comprises dentists, dental specialists and allied practitioners, including dental hygienists, dental therapists, oral health therapists (dual-qualified hygienists and therapists) and dental prosthetists.
The Australian dental labour force in 2006 continued to be dominated by general dental practitioners (67%) and specialists (about 10%). The allied practitioner proportion of 23% was made up of therapists (9%), prosthetists (7%), hygienists (5%) and oral health therapists (2%).
The overall picture is one of small changes in the decade to 2006, with some evidence that the main areas of growth are in the allied practitioner component. Between 2003 and 2006, oral health therapists (OHTs) became much more prominent, a trend that is likely to continue. 
There was modest growth in the supply of dentists (including dental specialists) in the decade to 2006, from 46.6 to 50.3 full-time equivalent practising dentists per 100,000 population. Supply was highest in the Australian Capital Territory and lowest in Tasmania and the Northern Territory, with all other States around the national average.
Around 10,400 dentists were practising in Australia in 2006, with four out of every five working in the private sector. The average age of dentists is rising (from 44.4 years to 45.1 years between 2000 and 2006).
Dentists are tending to work slightly fewer hours per week (down from 39.3 hours in 2000 to 38.5 in 2006). This could be the result of an increasing proportion of female dentists in the labour force—female dentists are more likely to work part-time and have career breaks than male dentists. In 2006, about 29% of practising dentists were women.
There were around 1,300 dental specialists in Australia in 2006. Orthodontists were the largest speciality group (39%), followed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons (16%), prosthodontists (13%), periodontists (11%), endodontists (9%) and paediatric dentists (8%).
Capital cities continue to have more dentists per capita than other areas. Between 2003 and 2006, increases in dentist numbers occurred only in Major cities, with falls in Inner regional areas. New dental schools have been established in regional areas aimed at increasing the supply of practitioners there, but the impact of these new schools will not be evident until 2010-15. 
There were around 3,100 allied dental practitioners in Australia in 2006. Almost all dental hygienists, dental therapists and oral health therapists were women, while nearly 90% of the 900 or more practising dental prosthetists were men. 
1	Introduction
The health workforce has gained considerable global attention in recent years and is a high priority of the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC). This report presents the national dental labour force statistics for Australia and is based on data collected in 2006 from the registered clinical labour force (dentists, hygienists, therapists, oral health therapists and prosthetists). It provides valuable information to facilitate appropriate oral health service planning and administration. 
1.1	Aim and objectives
The primary aim of this data collection is to examine labour force characteristics for dentists and allied dental professionals in Australia. The objectives are:
•	identify the total numbers of registered and practising dentists and allied dental practitioners.
•	describe the demographic and practice characteristics of the dental labour force.
•	describe the geographic distribution of the dental labour force across jurisdictions and across remoteness areas.
•	describe the specialist dental labour force and compare this with the dentist labour force. 
1.2	Scope and data preparation
In most states and territories, data were collected in conjunction with the registration process. In other states and territories, data were collected by direct mailing conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Dental Statistics and Research Unit (AIHW DSRU). In most cases, the timing of direct mailings approximated the registration renewal period. The scope of the collection included all registered dental practitioners (dentists, therapists, hygienists, oral health therapists and prosthetists). Some dental boards excluded practitioners registering for the first time. 
The data collection included demographic characteristics, practice status, and practice characteristics and activity at up to three locations. Practice activity items were based on the last week of practice. The dentist collection also collected eight specialist categories. Specialists not listed in these categories were usually classified as ‘other’ and were asked to specify their specialisation. 
Population data, remoteness and geographic classification were based on information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). As this is a population census rather than a sample survey, standard errors and 95% confidence intervals are not applicable. 
Estimation procedures
The figures from the data collection are estimates. Not all registered practitioners responded to the questionnaire, and not all responding practitioners answered all questions. Data were imputed to account for item non‑response and weighted to account for population non-response. These two processes produced estimates that approximate the distribution of registered dentists and allied practitioners. 
Imputation: estimation for item non-response
The imputation process involved an initial examination of all information provided by a respondent. Where possible, work status was imputed based on the participant’s response to other survey questions. For example, if a respondent provided information on hours worked and area of work but left the work status question blank, it was considered appropriate to assume that they were employed. Missing values remaining after this process were considered for their suitability for further imputation. Suitability was based on the level of non-response to that item. Imputation was usually only applied in cases where the proportion of missing values was less than 10% of the total.
In imputation, the known probabilities of particular responses occurring were used to assign a response category value to each record using a random number generator. Imputed values were based on the distribution of responses occurring in the responding sample. Fundamental to estimating missing values for survey respondents who returned partially completed questionnaires was the assumption that respondents who answered various questions were similar to those who did not.
Age group and sex values within each state and territory were first imputed to account for missing age and sex values. Other variables deemed suitable for this process were then imputed. In 2006, these variables were: area of practice (general practice, registered specialist, restricted practice and so forth), type of practice (solo, solo with assistant, dental hospital and so forth), specialist category (orthodontics, periodontics and so forth), hours worked group, remoteness code (Major city, Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote/Very remote), and statistical division. These imputed variables were similar for all professions, except that area of practice and specialist categories were not used for the allied dental labour force groups. 

Weighting: estimation for population non-response
Each survey record (a record equates to a respondent) was assigned a weight that was calibrated to align with independent data on the population of interest, referred to as ‘benchmarks’. In principle, this weight was based on the population number (the benchmark) divided by the number in the responding sample. 
Benchmark data were the number of registered practitioners in each state and territory, provided to the AIHW DSRU by the state and territory dental boards. Where possible, benchmarks were broken down by age group and sex. Where data were not available from the boards, benchmark figures were obtained from other sources, such as dental board annual reports. Hence, the weight for each record was based on particular characteristics that were known for the whole population.
Producing estimates for the population by weighting the data from respondents adjusted for bias in the responding group of practitioners, but only for known population characteristics (age and sex, where provided, in the case of the Dental and Allied Dental Labour Force Surveys). If information for a variable was not known for the whole population, the variable could not be used in the calculation of weights nor in the adjustment process.
For variables not used in the calculation of weights (for the Dental and Allied Dental Labour Force Survey, this means all variables other than state/territory, age and sex), it was assumed that respondents and non-respondents had the same characteristics. If the assumption was incorrect, and non-respondents were different from respondents, then the estimates would have some bias. The extent of this cannot be measured without more detailed information about non-respondents. 
1.3	Report structure
This report is structured to present the findings from the dentist collection, findings on dental specialists and findings from the allied dental labour force (therapists, hygienists, oral health therapists and prosthetists). Descriptions of the methods used are incorporated within the respective chapters.
2	Dentists
Dentists aim to improve the oral health of patients in accordance with the ethics of the profession and the law, and within the scope of their education, training and experience. In Australia, dentists comprise the majority of the dental labour force. They are registered with state or territory dental boards, either as a ‘general practitioner’ and/or a specialist. They are trained through any one of the six dental schools in Australia or meet the Australian Dental Council (ADC) requirements for practice. Since 2006, three new dental schools at La Trobe University (Victoria), James Cook University (Queensland) and Charles Sturt University (New South Wales) have been established. The ADC is responsible for the accreditation of education programs and the assessment of overseas qualifications (ADC 2009). Dentists practise in both the private and public sectors and are responsible for the supervision of hygienists, therapists and oral health therapists.
Box 1: Dentist
Dentists are responsible for the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment (nonsurgical, surgical or related procedures) of diseases, disorders and/or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and/or the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body.
This chapter presents the findings of the 2006 national dental labour force collection for dentists. Estimates reported in this section include both general practitioner dentists and dental specialists. Findings on the geographic distribution of dentists are based on jurisdictions, remoteness category and statistical divisions. Where possible, estimates from previous reports have been used to highlight changes over time.
2.1	Method
Data were collected on work status, hours worked, area and type of practice and specialist classification. An example of the questionnaire used in South Australia is in Appendix B1. 
With the exception of Western Australia and Tasmania, the questionnaire was completed in conjunction with registration renewal, with assistance from the state/territory dental boards or state health departments. In Western Australia and Tasmania, the data were collected by the AIHW DSRU. Table 1 lists the timing of this data collection by state/territory together with response rates. The overall response rate was 79.6%. Response rates are estimates, as some practitioners might maintain registrations in more than one state or territory, but they might have completed the questionnaire in only one state/territory. The response rates ranged from 33.1% in the Australian Capital Territory to 90.7% in New South Wales. 
Survey data were weighted to full enumeration of all registered dentists based on available registration information. Weighting varied for each state/territory depending on availability of age, sex and specialist registration data. Rounding of estimates may result in rows or columns not adding up to totals in some tables.

Table 1: Dentist data collection details by state/territory, 2006
State/
territory	Timing	Mail-out type	Reminder mail-out	Response rate (%)	
NSW	July–Sept	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	90.7	
Vic	Nov–Dec	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	77.0	
Qld	June–July	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	73.8	
WA	Nov–Dec	Direct mailed by AIHW DSRU 	Yes(a)	67.5	
SA	July–Sept	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	86.9	
Tas	Nov–Dec	Direct mailed by AIHW DSRU 	Yes(a)	62.2	
ACT	June–July	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	33.1	
NT 	Nov–Dec	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	49.5	
(a) Follow-up mail-out consisted of one reminder mailing of the survey questionnaire about 4 weeks after initial mail-out.
2.2	Overall numbers
•	There were an estimated 12,212 dentist registrations in Australia in 2006, including multi-state registrations. An estimated 336 dentists were practising overseas, 526 were registered in more than one jurisdiction and a further 545 were no longer in the dental labour force (Figure 1, Table A1.1). 
•	Male dentists have more multi-state registrations (approximately double) than their female colleagues (Table A1.1).
•	The number of dentists in the dental labour force increased by 10.1% between 2003 and 2006. An estimated 10,805 dentists were in the Australian dental labour force in 2006, 10,404 of them practising dentistry, 313 on extended leave and 87 looking for work in dentistry (Figure 1).
•	Most practising dentists were working in clinical practice, 8,747 in general practice and 1,254 in registered dental specialist/restricted practice (Figure 1).
•	The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) dentists (See Box 2) per 100,000 population (based on a 35-hour week) increased from 53.8 in 2003 to 55.2 in 2006 (Table A1.1). 
Box 2: Full-time equivalent (FTE) rate
The FTE rate (number of FTE workers per 100,000 population) is a measure of supply. The use of FTE rates allows for comparisons of supply to be made across geographic areas and over time. 
The number of FTE workers equals the number of dentists multiplied by the average weekly hours worked, and divided by the standard working week hours (35, 37.5 and 40 hours per week). 
Figure 1: All registered dentists in Australia, 2006
Chart showing registered dentists in Australia
Note: Estimates may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Over the decade
•	The number of registrations increased from 10,109 in 1996 to 12,212 in 2006, an increase of 20.8%. The registered dentists rate per 100,000 population (see Box 3) increased from 56.5 to 59.0 in the same period (Figure 2).
•	The number of practising dentists increased from 8,338 in 1996 to 10,404 in 2006 (24.8% increase). The practising dentists rate (see Box 3) increased from 46.6 to 50.3 in the same period (Figure 2). 
Figure 2: Registered and practising dentists, 1996 to 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Stacked line chart showing, for registered and employed dentists, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis year.
Note: There was no data collection in 2004.
Box 3: Registered/practising dentists rate
This is the number of registered or practising dentists per 100,000 population. These measures provide a better estimate of the change in the supply of dentists as changes in the size of population are also taken into account. 
2.3	Demographic characteristics
•	The number of practising dentists increased from 8,991 in 2000 to 10,404 in 2006, a 15.7% increase. In 2000, 22.9% of practising dentists were female, increasing to 26.3% in 2003 and 28.9%in 2006 (Figure 3). 
Figure 3: Practising dentists by sex, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis number and on the x-axis sex.
•	The average age of all dentists increased marginally from 44.4 years in 2000 to 45.1 years in 2006. Female dentists were, on average, nearly 10 years younger than their male counterparts (Table 2).
Table 2: Average age of dentists by sex, 2000, 2003 and 2006
	Age (years)	
Year	Male	Female	Persons 	
2000	46.2	38.2	44.4	
2003	46.9	38.1	44.6	
2006	47.6	38.9	45.1	
•	The highest percentage of dentists was 40-49 years old (27% in 2006), but there has been an increase in the size of older age groups. In 2000, just under a third (31.8%) of dentists were aged 50 years or older compared with 37.1% in 2006 (Figure 4). The highest percentage of female dentists (34.1%) was aged 30–39 years, while for male dentists the highest percentage (27.4%) was aged 40–49 years (Table A1.2). 
Figure 4: Practising dentists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per cent)
Stacked line chart showing for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis age group (years).
2.4	Practice characteristics
Hours worked per week
•	Between 2000 and 2006, the average working hours per week decreased marginally from 39.3 to 38.5. In a normal week, male dentists worked 40.2 hours, about five hours more than their female colleagues (Table A1.3).
•	The average hours worked per week was 38.7 among younger dentists, peaked at 41.1 hours for those aged 45-49, and then decreased across older age groups. Males worked more hours than females in all age groups (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Practising dentists by average hours usually worked per week, age group and sex, 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for male, female and persons, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years).
Area of practice
•	Across areas of practice (see Box 4), 84.1% of dentists (around 8,750) were in general practice, while 12% (around 1,250) were registered specialists or in restricted practice (Table A1.4).
•	Female dentists were comparatively younger than male dentists across all areas of practice. Age differences ranged from about four years in administrative areas to 8–10 years in other areas, such as general and specialist practice (Table A1.4). 
•	The average hours worked per week were highest for registered specialists who worked at least 3 hours more per week (41.8 hours) than the national average of 38.4. Female dentists worked fewer hours than male dentists across most areas of practice. Male dentists in general practice worked about six hours a week more than their female colleagues. In other areas of practice, the difference was 4.9 hours among registered specialists and 5.3 hours in restricted practice (Table A1.5). 

Box 4: Area and type of practice
Area of practice is the activity in which the dentist is engaged. This is classified into seven categories: general practice, registered specialist, restricted practice, administration, teaching/education, research and other. 
Type of practice is the private or public nature of the dentist’s work place. The private sector is further classified into seven categories: solo, solo with assistant, partnership; associateship, assistant, locum and health fund. The public sector is classified into six categories: dental hospital, school dental service, general dental service, defence service, other public and tertiary education. Dentists could also be working in both public and private settings. In this case they are categorised as ‘other’. 
Type of practice
•	In 2006, 76% of all practising dentists reported working at one location only, while 18% worked in two locations and 5% worked in three locations (Table 3). 
Table 3: Practising dentists by state/territory and number of work locations, 2006
 	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
One location									
Male	1,932	1,297	1,216	608	369	109	122	33	5,686	
Female	749	554	449	228	143	36	56	30	2,244	
Persons	2,681	1,851	1,665	835	512	145	178	63	7,931	
Two locations									
Male	479	282	206	115	154	13	30	8	1,286	
Female	193	188	100	58	62	6	10	4	620	
Persons	672	469	305	172	216	19	40	11	1,906	
Three locations									
Male	169	79	41	52	67	8	—	2	418	
Female	40	49	18	11	31	—	—	2	150	
Persons	208	128	58	63	98	8	—	4	568	
All locations									
Male	2,580	1,658	1,462	774	590	130	152	43	7,390	
Female	981	791	566	297	236	42	66	36	3,014	
Persons	3,561	2,449	2,028	1,071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
Based on main area of practice (first practice location):
•	Most practising dentists (83%) worked in the private sector (Table A1.6). This percentage has remained stable over time—82.6% in 2000 and 83.6% in 2003.
•	A large minority (42.8%) worked in solo practice or solo practice with an assistant, 15.1% worked as assistants, 14.1% as associates and 8.6% as partners. About 5% practised in a hospital setting and 4.8% worked in general dental services (Figure 6). 
•	Dentists working as solo practitioners were older (49.5 years) than those in other types of practice and older than the national average of 45.1 years (Table A1.6). 
•	Assistants were, on average, 37.5 years old, those working in health funds 38.8 years and those in the defence services 39.2 years. Female dentists were younger than their male colleagues in all types of practice (Table A1.6). 
•	Dentists working in solo private practice worked more hours per week than those in other types of practice (Table A1.7).
Figure 6: Practising dentists by practice type at main location, 2006 (per cent)
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis practice type and on the x-axis percentage.
Note: Public other includes defence forces, tertiary educators and practitioners who reported ‘public other’ type of practice. Private other includes locum, health fund and practitioners who reported ‘other’ type of practice.
Based on all areas of practice:
•	Most of the dentists (78.1%) practised only in the private sector, 13.3% practised only in the public sector and 8.6% practised in both public and private sectors. Among female dentists, a greater proportion (37.1%) worked in both public and private sectors, compared with 25.5% practising only in the private sector (Table 4).
•	Dentists working in both the public and private sectors were relatively younger and worked more hours than dentists practising only in public or only in the private sector (Table 4). 
•	Around 33.4% of dentists in the public sector worked part-time (less than 35 hours per week), compared with 26.4% in the private sector (Table 4).
Table 4: Practising dentists by sector, age and hours worked, 2006
 	Public	Private	Public and private	Total	
	Number practising	
Persons	1,386	8,126	895	10,404	
	Percentage	
% Female	44.2	25.5	37.1	28.97	
	Average age (years)	
Male	48.0	47.6	46.7	47.6	
Female	39.7	38.9	37.7	38.9	
Persons	44.2	45.4	43.4	45.1	
	Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	35.9	40.6	42.0	40.2	
Female	33.9	33.5	37.9	34.1	
Persons	35.0	38.8	40.5	38.5	
	Average direct patient care hours worked per week	
Male	28.8	35.3	35.4	34.7	
Female	28.3	29.6	32.5	29.7	
Persons	28.6	33.9	34.3	33.4	
	Percentage part-time	
Male	28.8	20.1	19.8	21.0	
Female	39.2	44.7	34.1	42.4	
Persons	33.4	26.4	25.1	27.2	
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
2.5	Geographic distribution
Distribution across jurisdictions
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising dentists increased in all jurisdictions except South Australia. Increases ranged from 1% in the Australian Capital Territory to about 20% in the Northern Territory (Table 5). 
Table 5: Practising dentists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (number)
Year 	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Total	
2000	3,126	2,204	1,564	913	821	119	184	60	8,991	
2003	3,346	2,284	1,821	957	833	157	216	65	9,678	
2006	3,561	2,449	2,028	1,071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
•	The number of FTE dentists working 35 hours or more increased across all jurisdictions except South Australia (Table 6). 
Table 6: Full-time equivalent dentists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Year 	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Total	
2000	55.8	50.5	49.9	55.1	58.3	27.9	65.1	33.3	52.7	
2003	57.4	49.7	53.1	52.8	57.7	37.3	71.8	36.9	53.8	
2006	 60.4	50.5	54.2	55.4	54.3	37.6	75.5	44.0	55.2	
Note: FTE is calculated by multiplying the number of practising dentists by the average hours worked per week and dividing the result by 35.
•	The percentage of female dentists varied slightly by state and territory. The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of females (46.2%) and Tasmania had the lowest (24.4%).

Box 5: Remoteness areas and statistical divisions
Remoteness areas
The Remoteness Structure is defined in census years, beginning with 2001, then 2006. It comprises three levels: Census collection district (CD), remoteness area (RA) and state/territory. Within a jurisdiction, each RA represents an aggregation of non-contiguous geographical areas sharing common characteristics of remoteness. 
This is based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), where the remoteness index value of a point is based on the physical road distance to the nearest town or service. These categories are: Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote and Very remote. This report combines Remote and Very remote areas into one category ‘Remote/Very remote’. 
Statistical division
A statistical division (SD) is a general purpose spatial unit and is the largest and most stable spatial unit within each jurisdiction. There are 61 SDs in Australia. SD names indicate a generalised region (e.g. Far North in Queensland). This classification is helpful as it enables stratification of labour force data in a more detailed fashion between better known areas in a jurisdiction.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) (ABS 2008).
•	
Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising dentists increased from 48.7 to 50.3 per 100,000 population nationally (Figure 7). 
•	The number of practising dentists per 100,000 population varied greatly between the sectors. In 2006, there were 6.7 public dentists, 39.3 private dentists and 4.3 dentists who worked in both the public and private sectors. The number of practising dentists per 100,000 population in the public sector ranged from 2.0 in the Australian Capital Territory to 8.5 in South Australia. For the private sector, it ranged from 30.9 in Tasmania to 57.8 in the Australian Capital Territory. For those practising in both the public and private sectors, it ranged from 1.0 in Tasmania to 6.2 in South Australia (Figure 8).
Figure 7: Practising dentists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
•	Practising dentists in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory were older than their colleagues in other jurisdictions. Across all jurisdictions, female dentists were younger than their male colleagues. The difference in average age by sex ranged from 8.2 years in Queensland to 13.4 years in the Northern Territory (Table A1.10). 
•	Practising dentists across five jurisdictions (Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania) worked fewer hours than the national average of 38.5 hours per week. Male dentists worked more hours per week than female dentists in all jurisdictions except the Northern Territory, where female dentists worked nearly 2 hours per week more than their male colleagues (Table A1.10). 
•	The average age of dentists working in general practice ranged from 43.7 years in Victoria to 47.4 years in the Northern Territory. The average hours worked per week in general practice ranged from 35.8 hours in South Australia to 41.9 hours in the Northern Territory (Table A1.11).
•	The average age of registered specialists ranged from 48 years in Victoria to 52 years in the Australian Capital Territory. Registered specialists in Tasmania worked more hours per week than those in other jurisdictions (Table A1.11). 
Figure 8: Practising dentists by sector and state/territory, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for public only, private only and public and private, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
Notes
1. Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
2. NT excluded due to small numbers, therefore response bias of those working in the public sector.

Distribution across remoteness areas
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising dentists increased only in Major cities (by 11%). Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote/Very remote areas decreased by 5.9%, 4.3% and 4.4% respectively (Table 7).
Table 7: Practising dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Year 	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
2000	7,097	1,255	557	82	8,991	
2003	7,590	1,433	564	91	9,678	
2006	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
Note: Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
•	In 2006, Major cities had the highest number of FTE practising dentists per 100,000 population. In Inner regional and Outer regional areas, the number of FTE dentists per 100,000 population decreased between 2003 and 2006 (Table 8). 
Table 8: Full-time equivalent dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2003 and 2006
Year 	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
2003	63.7	38.3	31.0	19.8	53.9	
2006	65.3	36.2	30.4	20.3	55.2	
Notes
1. FTE is calculated by multiplying the number of practising dentists by the average hours worked per week and dividing the result by 35.
2. Note: Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
•	The number of practising dentists per 100,000 population ranged from 59.5 in Major cities to 17.9 in Remote/Very remote areas. Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising dentists per 100,000 population decreased in Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote/Very remote areas (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Practising dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2000, 2003 and 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
•	The percentage of female dentists increased across all remoteness areas between 2003 and 2006, with the biggest increase in the Remote/Very remote area. The average age of all practising dentists was relatively similar across remoteness areas, ranging from 43.3 years in Remote/Very remote areas to 46.1 years in Outer regional areas (Table A1.13). 
•	The number of dentists per 100,000 population working in the private sector only was highest in Major cities (46.3 dentists per 100,000) and lowest in Remote/Very remote areas (10.3 dentists per 100,000) in 2006 (Figure 10). 

Figure 10: Practising dentists by sector of practice and remoteness area of main practice, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for public only, private only and public and private, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Notes
1. Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
2. Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
•	There was little difference in the hours worked per week across remoteness areas. Dentists in Remote/Very remote areas worked the most hours (39.7 hours), while those in Inner regional areas worked the least (38.3). Males worked, on average, 40.2 hours per week. In contrast, females worked, on average, 34.1 hours per week, ranging from 33.8 hours per week in Major cities to 40 hours per week in Remote/Very remote areas (Table A1.17).
•	About 80% of all dental practitioners were in the Major cities, while less than 1% were in Remote/Very remote areas. The percentage of dentists working only in the public sector was lowest in Major cities (12.6%) and highest in Remote/Very remote areas (32.4%). Males worked, on average, more hours per week than females in all except Remote/Very remote areas (Table A1.17, Table A1.15).
3	Dental specialists
Dental specialists are trained as general practitioners in dentistry but have additional qualifications and experience. In Australia, specialist education and training is offered in 12 specialities, which have Australian Dental Council (ADC) accreditation. These include:
•	orthodontics 
•	oral and maxillofacial surgery 
•	prosthodontics 
•	periodontics
•	endodontics
•	paediatric dentistry
•	oral pathology and oral medicine
•	public health dentistry
•	dento-maxillofacial radiology
•	special needs dentistry. 
Specialist training is offered by six dental schools throughout Australia, but not all these schools offer training programs for all specialities (DEST 2007). The training generally involves an additional three years of postgraduate education leading to specialist registration. Oral and maxillofacial surgery training is offered as a fellowship through the Royal Australian College of Dental Surgeons and requires completion of a medical degree 
(ADC 2009). Qualifications from the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand must meet the concerned state or territory dental board’s guidelines for specialist registration. Other overseas qualifications must meet the ADC requirements for general practice, followed by an application for specialist registration to the concerned state or territory dental boards (ADC 2009).
Specialists play a key role in maintaining clinical excellence and in providing leadership in dentistry. Monitoring and surveillance of dental specialists is important as it can inform decisions related to specialist training and improving the geographic reach of specialists, especially in supporting primary care (Gallagher & Wilson et al. 2009; Maupome et al. 2001). 
3.1	Method
Dental specialist data were collected as part of the dentist labour force questionnaire. Section 7 of the questionnaire classified specialists into nine categories: orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, dento-maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, endodontics, paediatric dentistry and oral pathology (see Box 6). Specialists not classified within these nine specialities were classified as ‘other’ (see Questionnaire in Appendix B1). 
In previous dental labour force reports, specialists were defined by area of practice and registered specialty status (AIHW DSRU 2005; Teusner et al. 2008; Teusner & Spencer 2003). Those who indicated that they were practising as a clinical specialist, as opposed to other areas of practice, were classified as specialists. This report includes all registered specialists regardless of their area of practice, that is, clinical, administration, research etc. Where possible, earlier time points have been revised according to the criteria used in this report and hence some estimates may differ from previously published reports. 
3.2	Overall numbers
Between 2003 and 2006:
•	The total number of specialist registrations increased from 1,376 to 1,502, an overall increase of 9.1%. 
•	The number of practising specialists increased by 8.3%.
In 2006:
•	Most of the specialist labour force were practising (1,328 persons, 98.3%) (Figure 11).
•	Specialist practitioners were involved in general practice (3%), registered/restricted practice (92.1%), administration (0.4%), teaching (3.4%) and research (0.2%) (Figure 11). 
•	Orthodontists were the largest group in the specialist labour force (39%), followed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons (15.5%), prosthodontists (12.9%) and periodontists (10.9%) (Figure 11). 
Figure 11: All dental specialists in Australia, 2006
Chart showing all dental specialists in Australia.
Note: Estimates may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Box 6: Specialities in dentistry
In Australia, 12 specialities are recognised for registration, and are provided as accredited training programs in six dental schools. 
Oral and maxillofacial surgery 
Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) is concerned primarily with the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects involving both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissue of the oral and maxillofacial region. Specialists train for OMFS in Australia only through the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgery. Training is offered in the form of a fellowship, and after registration a specialist can practice in a wide variety of hospital and clinical settings. 
Prosthodontics 
Prosthodontics is the part of dentistry pertaining to the restoration and maintenance of oral function, comfort, appearance and health of the patient by the replacement of missing teeth and contiguous tissues with artificial substitutes (Boucher 2002). It could best be described as restoring a patient’s oral functioning and rebuilding their smile through the use of dental implants, bridgework, dentures and/or crowns. It has three main branches: removable prosthodontics, fixed prosthodontics and maxillofacial prosthodontics. Prosthodontics is offered as a three-year training program in five of the six dental schools. 
Endodontics 
Endodontics is concerned with the morphology, physiology, and pathology of the human tooth, in particular the dental pulp, crown, root and peri-radicular tissues. The study and practice of endodontics includes the biology of these tissues and the aetiology, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries that affect them (ADA 2010). 
Orthodontics 
Orthodontics gained importance in the early 20th century, and was added as a speciality in its own right. Major responsibilities include diagnosis, prevention, interception and treatment of all forms of malocclusion (improper bites) of the teeth and associated alterations in their surrounding areas (Boucher 2002). 
Periodontics
Periodontics is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth (periodontium). It was recognised as a speciality in the middle of the 20th century (Neuman & Carranza 2006).
Paediatric dentistry
Paediatric dentistry is concerned with the provision of oral healthcare services to children aged 1–17. It includes both restorative and preventive components, and involves training a child to accept dentistry, and restoring and maintaining primary, mixed and permanent dentitions. 
Public health dentistry
Dental public health is the prevention and control of dental diseases and the promotion of dental health through organised community efforts. It serves the community as the patient rather than the individual. It is concerned with dental health education of the public, applied dental research and administration of group dental care programs, as well as the prevention and control of dental diseases on a community basis (ABDPH 2000). 
Oral pathology
Oral pathology deals with the nature, identification and management of diseases affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions. It involves research; diagnosis of diseases using clinical, radiographic, microscopic, biochemical or other examinations; and management of patients.
Oral medicine
Oral medicine deals with the significance and relationship of oral and systemic diseases. Registration as an oral medicine specialist is only available in Victoria and New South Wales. 
Special needs dentistry
Special needs dentistry is concerned with providing and enabling the delivery of oral care for people with an impairment or disability. It is a relatively new speciality that is recognised for registration and practice only in South Australia. 
In addition, oral medicine and oral pathology training and registration are offered together as one speciality. Participants of the 2006 survey also indicated forensic odontology and geriatric dentistry as dental specialities. They are not currently considered as specialist qualifications by the state/territory dental boards in Australia. 
3.3	General characteristics of specialists
•	The number of male specialists was nearly five times higher than females. Females comprised 17.5% of the specialist labour force. This proportion did not change between 2003 and 2006 (Table 9).
Table 9: Practising specialists by sex, 2003 and 2006
	Number of practising specialists	
Year	Male	Female	Persons	
2003	1,012	216	1,228	
2006	1,095	233	1,328	
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the average age of specialists increased from 48.2 to 49.1 years. Female specialists were, on average, 8 years younger than their male colleagues (Table A2.2). 
•	The largest group of dental specialists was aged 40–59 years. Between 2003 and 2006, the percentage of younger dental specialists (30–49 years) decreased while the percentage of older dental specialists increased (Figure 12).
•	In 2006, all practising specialists worked, on average, 41.1 hours per week. Male specialists worked around five hours more (41.9 hours) than their female colleagues (37.1 hours) (Table A2.1).
•	The average hours worked per week was 35.3 hours in younger dentists, peaking at around 44.8 hours for those aged 45–49 years and then declining across older age groups. Males worked more hours than females in all age groups, except for 55–59 year old females (Figure 13).
Figure 12: Practising specialists by age group, 2003 and 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis age group (years).
Figure 13: Practising specialists by average hours usually worked per week, age group and sex, 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for males, females and persons, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years).
•	In 2006, the largest proportion of specialists worked in solo private practice settings (39.4%), while 18.5% were associates, 10.6% were in partnerships, 6.9% worked solo with assistant and 5.9% were assistants. In the public sector, nearly 8% of the specialists worked in dental hospital settings (Figure 14).
Figure 14: Practising specialists by practice type at main location, 2006
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis practice type, and on the x-axis percentage of practising specialists.
Note: Public-other includes defence forces, tertiary educators and practitioners who reported ‘public other’ type of practice. Private-other includes locum, health fund and practitioners who reported ‘other’ type of practice.
•	In 2006, there were 6.4 practising dental specialists per every 100,000 population. The highest rate was in the Australian Capital Territory (11.1) and lowest in Tasmania (4.0). New South Wales had comparatively fewer numbers of specialists per 100,000 population than Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia (Figure 15).
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the practising rate of specialists per 100,000 population in Australia increased from 5.7 to 6.4. This was consistent across all states/territories except Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory (Figure 16). 
•	Across remoteness areas, the practising rate of specialists per 100,000 population was highest in Major cities in 2006 (8.3). Remote/Very remote areas had practising rates of less than 1 specialist per 100,000 population (Figure 17).
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the practising rate of specialists increased moderately in the Inner regional and Remote/Very remote areas, more considerably in the Major cities (from 7.5 to 8.3) and was stable in the Outer regional areas (1.8) (Figure 17).
Figure 15: Practising specialists and FTE by state/territory, 2006 (per 100,000  population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for practising rate and FTE, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
Note: FTE is calculated by multiplying the number of practising dentists by the average hours worked per week and dividing the result by 35.
Figure 16: Practising specialists by state/territory, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
Figure 17: Practising specialists by remoteness area of main practice, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.

•	In 2006, the majority of dental specialists (931 persons, 70.1%) were practising only in the private sector, while 160 (12.0%) were practising only in the public sector and 237 (17.8%) were practising in both public and private sectors. There was a greater percentage of female specialists practising in the public sector (32.3) than the private sector (13.9) (Table A2.2).
•	Specialists in the private sector and in both the public and private sectors worked more hours than those only in the public sector. The trend was similar in direct patient care hours worked per week (Table A2.2).
3.4	Specialist groups
Orthodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMFS), prosthodontists, periodontists, endodontists and paediatric dentists will be classified separately due to their higher numbers. Oral pathologists, dento-maxillofacial radiologists and those classified as ‘others’ will be combined into one group ‘other’ for this section. 
Comparisons among specialist groups
•	Orthodontists were the largest specialist group followed by OMFS (Table 10).
•	Between 2003 and 2006, there was a very small increase in the practising rate across some specialist categories. But there was a decrease in the number of orthodontists per 100,000 population (from 2.7 to 2.5) (Table 10). 
Table 10: Practising specialists by specialist group, 2003 and 2006 
Year	Ortho	Perio	Prosth	OMFS	Endo	Paed	Other	All specialists	
	Number of practitioners		
2003	538	139	149	183	98	65	56	1,228	
2006	518	146	171	206	116	100	71	1,328	
	Practising rate per 100,000 population		
2003	2.7	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.5	0.3	0.6	5.7	
2006	2.5	0.7	0.8	1.0	0.6	0.5	0.3	6.4	
Note: The following abbreviations have been used in this table: Ortho (Orthodontist), Perio (Periodontist), Prosth (Prosthodontist), OMFS (Oral and maxillofacial surgeon), Endo (Endodontist), Paed (Paediatric dentist).
•	The practising rate of dental specialist categories per 100,000 population varied from 
2.5 for orthodontists to 0.3 for the other categories. Orthodontists have the highest FTE rate (for 35 hours per week) at 2.9 for every 100,000 population. OMFS have the second highest FTE (1.3), followed by prosthodontists (1.0) (Figure 18). 
•	Females were in the minority across all specialist categories except for paediatric dentistry, where they accounted for 57.3% of all paediatric dentists (Figure 19).
•	Average age varied by specialist group. Prosthodontists and OMFS had the highest average age (51.0 years) and paediatric dentistry had the lowest average age (45.2 years) (Table A2.5).
•	Female specialists were younger than their male counterparts and worked fewer hours, except for the ‘other’ category (Table A2.5).
Figure 18: Practising specialists and full-time equivalent rate by speciality, 
2006 (per 100,000 population)
Horizontal bar chart showing on the y-axis speciality and on the x-axis practising specialists per 100,000 population.
Figure 19: Sex distribution of specialist categories, 2006
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis speciality, and on the x-axis percentage of female specialists.
•	In 2006, there was a trend across all specialist groups for a large percentage to work in the private sector. But this was different in paediatric dentistry and the ‘other’ category, where the distribution of specialists in all three sectors was more uniform (Figure 20).
Figure 20: Practising specialists by sector of practice and average hours worked per week, 2006
Horizontal bar chart showing, for public and private, private and public, on the y-axis speciality and on the x-axis average hours worked.
Notes 
1. Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
2. Other includes oral pathology, oral medicine, dento-maxillofacial radiology and those classified as ‘other’ specialty type. 
Differences between specialists and general dental practitioners
•	The proportion of females (17.5%) in the specialist labour force was substantially lower than the proportion of female general dental practitioners (30.6%). 
•	Across age groups, the largest proportion of specialists and general dental practitioners were aged 40–59 years. Over a third (38.1%) of general dental practitioners were younger than 40, while only 21.5% of specialists were younger than 40 (Figure 21). 
•	The average age of specialists (49.1 years) was higher than general dental practitioners (44.5) and all dental practitioners (45.1 years) (Table A1.4, Table A2.2). 
Figure 21: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by age group, 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for specialists, GDPs and all dentists, on the y-axis per cent, and on the x-axis age group (years).
•	Specialists worked the longest in the 30–34 years and 55–59 years age groups (49.4 hours and 43.3 hours per week respectively). There was a steep fall in specialist work hours in the 35–39 years age group. Meanwhile, general dental practitioners peaked in the 45–49 years age group and were more consistent with the national average (Figure 22). 
Figure 22: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by average hours usually worked per week and age group, 2006 Stacked line chart showing, specialists, GPs, and all dentists, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years).
Table 11: Practising specialists and dentists by state/territory, 2006
Type	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Total	
Specialists	390	331	260	151	129	20	37	10	1,328	
GDPs	3,171	2,118	1,769	920	697	152	181	69	9,076	
All dentists	3,561	2,449	2,028	1071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
•	Only 11% of specialists worked in areas outside Major cities, while one-fifth (20.2%) of GDPs worked in Regional and Remote/Very remote areas (Table 12, Table A2.4). 
Table 12: Practising specialists and dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Type	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
Specialists	1,182	105	36	4	1,328	
GDPs	7,245	1,243	504	83	9,076	
All dentists	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
Notes
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
2. Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
3. Estimates may not sum up due to rounding.
•	The number of specialists and general dental practitioners per 100,000 population was highest in the Australian Capital Territory and lowest in Tasmania. Nationally, there were 6.4 specialists compared with 43.8 general dental practitioners per every 100,000 persons (Figure 23). 
Figure 23: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by state/territory, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for specialists, GDPs and all dentists, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
Figure 24: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by remoteness area, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for specialists, GPs and all dentists, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
•	
Across remoteness areas, the numbers of specialists and general dental practitioners per 100,000 population showed similar patterns. This ranged from 8.3 in Major cities to 0.8 in Remote/Very remote areas for specialists; and from 51.1 to 17.1 for general dental practitioners (Figure 24).
•	While similar proportions of specialists and general dental practitioners practised solely in the public sector (12% and 13.5% respectively), specialists were more likely than general dental practitioners to practise in both the public and private sectors (Figure 25).
Figure 25: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists 
by sector of practice, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for public, private and public and private, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis type of practitioner.
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
4	Allied dental practitioners
This chapter presents the findings of the 2006 allied dental practitioner survey. This includes four groups: dental hygienists, dental therapists, oral health therapists (OHTs) and dental prosthetists. First, the methods for data collection and analysis are explained. Later, these four groups are individually discussed. 
As of 2006, the estimated numbers of practising dual registered hygienists and therapists are reported as a separate labour force group (OHTs). This leads to some interpretation issues when comparing 2006 estimates with earlier data collections. 
4.1	Methods
The allied dental practitioner surveys included two types of questionnaires: one for dental hygienists, dental therapists and OHTs combined, and the other for dental prosthetists. Data were collected on age, sex, work status, hours worked, and practice characteristics (see Appendix B2 and B3). All allied personnel registered with the dental board in each state/territory were surveyed. The survey was administered in conjunction with registration renewal, and with assistance from the state/territory dental boards and/or health departments. 
Dental hygienists, therapists and OHTs were differentiated on the basis of their registration type. Data were individually analysed on the basis of these three categories. The national response rates varied from 76.7% for hygienists to 81.4% for therapists to 82% for OHTs. Data collection methods and resulting response rates varied by state/territory (Table 13).
Table 13: Hygienists, therapists and OHTs data collection details by state/territory, 2006
State/
territory	Data collection period	Mail-out type	Reminder mail-out	Dental hygienist response rate (%)	Dental therapist response rate (%)	OHTs response rate (%)	
NSW	Jul–Sept	Registration renewal	No	89.2	91.4	97.8	
Vic	Oct –Nov	Registration renewal	No	87.8	75.5	93.6	
Qld	Jun–Jul	Registration renewal	No	66.7	78.4	78.5	
WA	Nov–Dec	AIHW DSRU 	Yes(a)	68.1	79.1	66.7	
SA	May–Jun 	Registration renewal	No	77.3	79.6	92.3	
Tas	Nov–Dec	AIHW DSRU 	Yes(a)	100.0	96.7	—	
ACT	Aug–Sep	Dental Board/AIHW DSRU(b)	Yes(a)	31.7	95.0	—	
NT	Nov–Dec	Registration renewal	No	n.a.	52.0	—	
(a) Follow-up consisted of one reminder mailing of the survey questionnaire about 4 weeks after initial mail-out. 
(b) In ACT, the Dental Board surveyed hygienists in conjunction with registration renewal and AIHW DSRU conducted direct mail-out to all therapists. 
Dental hygienists were not surveyed in the Northern Territory. In 2006, there were 12 registered hygienists in the Northern Territory. Data for OHTs were available in only five states. 
Dental prosthetist registration data were supplied by the state/territory dental boards and/or prosthetist associations. The national response rate for the prosthetist survey was 61.3%. The collection was conducted in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, where prosthetists have only recently been permitted to practise. For Western Australia and Tasmania, data were collected by direct mail-out from the AIHW Dental Statistics and Research Unit. Data collection methods and resulting response rates varied by state/territory (Table 14). 
Table 14: Dental prosthetist data collection details by state/territory, 2006
State/
territory	Data collection period	Mail-out type	Reminder mail-out	Response rate (%)	
NSW	Jul–Sep	Surveyed with registration renewal	Yes	56.3	
Vic	Oct–Nov	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	69.3	
Qld	Jun–Jul	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	69.9	
WA	Nov–Dec	Direct mailed by AIHW DSRU 	Yes(a)	31.5	
SA	May–Jun	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	64.9	
Tas	Nov–Dec	Direct mailed by AIHW DSRU 	No	100.0	
ACT	Aug–Sep	Surveyed with registration renewal	No	57.1	
NT 	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	
(a) Follow-up consisted of one reminder mailing of the survey questionnaire about 4 weeks after initial mail-out.
Weighting of data varied between state/territory depending on available registration information. For the purposes of generating estimates, it was assumed that non-respondents had the same characteristics as respondents; hence, data were weighted up to the number registered in each state/territory. Rounding of estimates may result in rows or columns not summing to totals in some tables. As a result of weighting, greater attention will be required when reading data from states/territories that have lower response rates and estimates based on small groups. 
Oral health therapists
Comparisons of 2006 estimates with previous data collections have been complicated by the emergence of the new OHTs group. In earlier reports (2000, 2003 and 2005) OHTs were either included in the total for therapists or were reported in both the hygienist and therapist reports. The separate reporting of OHTs has resulted in a decrease in the number of dental therapists in some states and territories.
Recategorisation of previous data collections based on this new classification was not possible due to collection process differences. For example, the 2003 allied dental labour force survey used different sources for listing hygienists/therapists: state/territory dental board registers, Australian Dental Therapist Association register and Dental Hygiene Association of Australia register. 
Prosthetists
There was no 2006 data collection for prosthetists in the Northern Territory. In tables reporting numbers of practitioners per 100,000 population by remoteness, if no practitioner data were available the population estimate was correspondingly reduced (Australian estimates exclude the Northern Territory population). 
4.2	Dental hygienists
Dental hygienists are trained in an accredited school and registered by the state/territory board to provide a limited range of dental services (such as scaling and polishing teeth, health education and training, radiography) in accordance with restrictions in place by the dental boards. 
The profession of dental hygiene began in 1976, when dental hygienists became recognised as dental auxiliaries in South Australia. Dental hygienists are allowed to register and practice in all states and territories. Dental hygienists can work in both the public and private sectors under the supervision of a dentist (see Box 7).
Box 7: Services performed by dental hygienists:
•		oral examination and the assessment and recording of oral conditions 
•		taking impressions of teeth (other than for prosthodontic or prosthetic dental treatment
•		the application of preventive and therapeutic solutions to the teeth
•		preventive dental procedures, including the application of fissure sealants
•		the non-surgical management of gingival and periodontal conditions, including root debridement
•		orthodontic procedures that do not initiate tooth movement
•		the placement and removal of metallic and non-metallic separators
•		splinting to stabilise mobile teeth
•		the polishing and recontouring of restorations
•		the application of professional available bleaching agents
•		the removal of sutures
•		the application and removal of periodontal packs
•		diagnostic dental radiography
•		administration of local anaesthetic solutions for dental procedures
•		placement of temporary restorations not involving the removal of tooth structures.
Source: SA Dental Practice Act 2001.
Note: There were some variations in scope of practice by state and territory.
This section presents the findings of the dental hygienist labour force survey. First, the overall numbers are presented, followed by demographic and practice characteristics. Second, the findings on the geographic classification of hygienists, based on jurisdictions and remoteness category, are presented. When possible, comparisons are made with data available from previous surveys. However, such comparisons should be made with caution due to the addition of the OHT category. 
Overall numbers
Figure 26: All registered dental hygienists in Australia, 2006
Chart showing all registered dental hygienists in Australia, 2006.
(a) There was no collection in the NT. 12 hygienists have been included in the total number of registered practitioners but have not been included in the other estimates.
Note: Estimates may not sum to totals due to rounding.
•	In 2006, there were an estimated 796 dental hygienists. Multi-state registrations contributed to 3.2%, while 2.0% were working overseas. Most registered dental hygienists (96.7%) were classified in the hygienist labour force (Figure 26, Table A3.1). 
•	Of the 717 dental hygienists in the labour force, 94.0% (674 practitioners) were in active practice, while 5.3% were on extended leave and 3.5% were looking for work (Figure 26, Table A3.1). 
•	About 73% of practising hygienists were working in private general practice. Another 17.5% were working in private specialist practice, and only 7.3% (49 practitioners) were employed in the public sector (Figure 26). 
Table 15: Number of dental hygienists and practising rate, 1997 to 2006
	1997	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	
Number of practising hygienists	282	416	471	515	577	n.a.	666	674	
Practising rate per 100,000 population	1.5	2.2	2.5	2.6	2.9	n.a.	3.3	3.3	
Note: There was no data collection in 2004.
•	Between 1997 and 2006, the number of practising dental hygienists increased from 282 to 674, a 139% increase. The number of practising hygienists per 100,000 population also increased, from 1.5 to 3.3 (Table 15).
•	In 2006, there were 3.8 registered dental hygienists per 100,000 population. Based on a 35 hours per week FTE, there were 2.7 practising hygienists per 100,000 population (Table A3.1). 
Demographic characteristics
•	Female hygienists continued to dominate this group (in number). The proportion of females remained similar, at about 97% in 2003 and 2006 (Table A3.1). 
•	The average age of dental hygienists increased from 34.9 years in 2000 to 36.1 years in 2003 and 37.7 in 2006. Female dental hygienists were slightly older (37.8 years) than their male colleagues (35.9 years) (Table A3.2). 
•	In 2006, at least 50% of all practising dental hygienists were aged 30–44. As the number of younger practitioners decreased, there was an increase in the percentage of practising hygienists in older age groups (40–44, 45–49 and 50+ years) (Figure 27).
Figure 27: Practising dental hygienists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis age group ( years).
Note: There was no collection in the NT.
Practice characteristics
In 2006, all dental hygiene practitioners worked an average of 28.8 hours per week. Male hygienists worked slightly longer hours than their female colleagues. This differentiation was similar across age groups except in older age groups (50+ years). Female hygienists worked longer hours than males in this group. However, this comparison should be viewed with caution, as there were very few male hygienists in this age group (Table A3.6).
•	The national average of total hours worked was similar to preferred hours to work. However, the younger age groups (50 years or younger) preferred to work fewer hours and the older age groups (50+ years) preferred to work slightly more (Figure 28). 
•	The majority (64.9%) worked in only one location. A small proportion (7.9%) worked in three or more practice locations and more than half of those worked part-time (less than 35 hours per week) (Figure 29). 
•	Hygienists indicated that their main reasons for working part-time were to accommodate ‘child rearing’ (36.1%) and ‘personal preference’ (34.6%). The reasons were similar when compared with the previous data collections of 2003 and 2005 (Figure 30). 
Figure 28: Practising dental hygienists by hours worked, preferred hours per week and 
age group, 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for average hours/week and preferred hours/week, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years).
Figure 29: Practising dental hygienists by number of locations worked and full‑time status, 2006 (per cent)
Vertical bar chart showing, for part-time % and full-time %, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis number of locations worked.
Figure 30: Practising dental hygienists by most common reasons for working part-time, 2006
Vertical bar chart showing, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis reasons for working part time.
•	Based on main practice location, the majority of practising hygienists worked in the private sector (92.7%). This included 73.2% in private general practice and 17.5% in private specialist practice. Only 7.3% of hygienists worked in the public sector, of which teaching occupied the highest proportion (Table A3.7, Figure 31). 
•	Based on all practice locations, 5.6% worked only in the public sector, 88.4% worked only in the private sector, and 5.9% worked in both the public and private sectors (Table 16). 
•	The average age of practitioners working in the public sector alone was at least two years older than the national average of 37.7 years (Table 16).
•	Hygienists working in both the public and private sectors had longer working weeks compared with hygienists working in only one sector (Table 16).
Figure 31: Practising dental hygienists by type of practice at main practice, 2006 
(per cent)
Horizontal bar chart showing, for public and private, on the y-axis practice type and on the x-axis percentage practising hygienists.
Table 16: Practising dental hygienists by sector, age and hours worked in all practice locations, 2006
 	Public	Private	Public and private(a)	Total	
	Number employed	
Persons	38	596	40	674	
	Percentage	
% Female	88.3	97.4	93.1	96.7	
	Average age (years)	
Male	40.6	36.5	25.0	35.9	
Female	39.9	37.5	39.4	37.8	
Persons	40.0	37.5	38.4	37.7	
	Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	36.0	26.5	39.9	30.0	
Female	23.1	28.8	33.2	28.8	
Persons	25.0	28.7	33.7	28.8	
	Percentage part-time	
Male	33.8	52.2	0.0	42.1	
Female	72.4	66.0	49.1	65.3	
Persons	67.9	65.6	45.7	64.6	
a) Public and private is based on all practice locations.
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
•	Hours dedicated to various areas of practice were totalled for all practice locations reported. The majority of hours worked (90.9%) were dedicated to clinical practice. Small percentages were dedicated to teaching/education (3.2%), oral health promotion (2.7%), administration/management (1.1%), chair-side assistance (0.7%), research and other areas of practice (1.3%)
Figure 32: Average hours worked by dental hygienists by area of practice at main practice, 2006 (per cent)
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis area of practice and on the x-axis per cent.
Distribution by geographic classification
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising dental hygienists increased in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Increases ranged from 15% in South Australia to 45% in Western Australia. The decrease in the number of hygienists in Victoria and Queensland should be interpreted with caution as some hygienists have been categorised as OHTs since 2006 (see Section 4.1) (Table 17).

Table 17: Practising dental hygienists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Year 	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas(a)	ACT	Total	
2000	56	97	45	81	110	. .	22	416	
2003	104	123	81	93	134	6	30	557	
2006	149	120	74	135	154	5	38	674	
(a) Hygienists were not permitted to practice in Tasmania until 2001.
•	The practising rate of dental hygienists per 100,000 population was highest in the Australian Capital Territory (11.3 hygienists) and lowest in Tasmania (1.0 hygienists). The FTE rate (35 hours per week) was lower than the practising rate. This ranged from 0.9 per 100,000 population in Tasmania to 10.3 in the Australian Capital Territory (Figure 33, Table A3.1). 
•	In 2006, the average age of practising dental hygienists was similar in all states/territories, except Western Australia. Western Australia had the lowest average age of 32.6 years, and the trend was similar to 2003 figures. South Australia had the highest average age of 40.4 years (Table A3.2). 
Figure 33: Practising and full-time equivalent dental hygienists by state/territory 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for practising rate and FTE rate, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
Figure 34: Practising hygienists by remoteness area, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
•	Female dental hygienists were older than their male colleagues in all states/territories except New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory (Table A3.2). 
•	The average hours worked per week ranged from 24.9 in South Australia to 31.7 in the Australian Capital Territory. Male hygienists worked more hours than their female colleagues in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia (Table A3.4).
•	The average age of dental hygienists was lowest in Remote/Very remote areas (31.0 years) compared with Major cities (37.7 years), Inner regional (38.0 years) and Outer regional (37.7 years) (Table A3.3).
•	The average hours worked per week was highest in Remote/Very remote areas (32.0 hours) and lowest in Outer regional areas (26.7 hours) (Table A3.5).
•	The practising rate of hygienists in Major cities ranged from 2.3 in Queensland to 12.4 in South Australia; in Inner regional areas from 1.0 in Queensland to 4.1 in South Australia; and in Outer regional areas from 1.2 in Queensland to 2.3 in Western Australia (Table A3.9).

4.3	Dental therapists
Dental therapists provide a restricted range of clinical services predominantly to school‑aged children. However, since 2006 age restrictions have been extended to include young adults in some states and territories. In Australia, training of dental therapists began in 1967, first in Tasmania, followed by South Australia (Dunning 1972). Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria began training in the early 1970s (Satur 2009). A therapist might also be involved in non-clinical roles, such as oral health promotion, education and preventive dentistry. 
Historically, therapists were only employed in the public sector. Western Australia allowed private sector practice in the late 1990s and following the National Competition Policy in 1998–2004, all states and territories have allowed therapists to practice in both the public and private sectors. Dental therapists provide a prescribed list of services (based on the discretion of the state/territory dental boards (see Box 8). 
Box 8: Services performed by dental therapists: 
•		oral examination
•		the taking of impressions of teeth (other than for the purposes of prosthodontic or prosthetic dental treatment
•		the application of preventive and therapeutic solutions to teeth
•		preventive dental procedures, including the application of fissure sealants
•		the administration of local anaesthetic solutions for dental procedures
•		dental prophylaxis, including the removal of dental calculus
•		splinting to stabilise mobile teeth
•		restoration of coronal tooth structure, including pulp capping and pulpotomy
•		extraction of deciduous teeth
•		diagnostic dental radiography.
Source: SA Dental Practice Act 2001.
Note: There were some variations in scope of practice by state and territory.
This section presents the findings of the dental therapist labour force data collection. Subsections include the overall numbers of the 2006 collection, with comparisons of prior collections from 1997; demographic characteristics; practice characteristics; and geographic distribution. Comparisons with prior collections should be carefully read, due to the new categorisation of OHTs (see Section 4.1). 
Overall numbers
•	In 2006, there were 1,380 dental therapists in Australia, including multi-state registration (1.2%) and overseas practitioners (0.4%) (Figure 35, Table A4.1).
•	Of all registered dental therapists, 90.6% (1,231 practitioners) were in the labour force and 9.4% were not in the labour force. The latter were: not working in any paid work (22.3%); working in dentistry, but not as a dental therapist (36.2%); or working, but not in dentistry (41.4%) (Figure 35, Table A4.1).
Figure 35: All registered dental therapists in Australia, 2006
Chart showing all registered dental therapists in Australia, 2006.
 Note: Estimates may not sum to totals due to rounding.
•	About 95% of therapists (1,171 practitioners) in the labour force were in active practice while 3.6% were on extended leave and 1.3% were looking for work in dental therapy 
(Figure 35, Table A4.1). 
•	The therapist workforce was dominated by females, accounting for 98.8% of all registered therapists in Australia (Table A4.1). 
Table 18: Number of dental therapists and practising rate, 1997 to 2006
	1997	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	
Number of practising therapists	1,324	1,317	1,210	1,203	1,242	n.a.	1,521	1,171	
Practising rate per 100,000 population	7.1	6.9	6.2	6.1	6.3	n.a.	7.5	5.7	
Note: There was no data collection in 2004.
•	The number of practising therapists decreased from 1,324 in 1997 to 1,203 in 2002. The increase in 2003 and 2005 can be attributed to the rising number of OHTs (practising therapy and hygiene). The pattern was similar for the number of practising therapists per 100,000 population (practising rate) (Table 18).
Demographic characteristics
•	Female practitioners accounted for 98.8% of all practising therapists (Table A4.1).
•	The average age of practising dental therapists increased from 37.9 years in 2000 to 40.3 years in 2003 and 42.9 years in 2006. On average, female therapists were at least four years older than their male colleagues (Table A4.2).
•	Between 2000 and 2006, there was a decrease in the percentage of therapists in the younger and middle aged groups (younger than 45 years) and an increase in the older age groups (45 years and over) (Figure 36).
Figure 36: Practising dental therapists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis age group (years).

Practice characteristics
•	In 2006, therapists worked, on average, 28 hours per week. Those younger than 30 and older than 60 worked more hours than the others (Figure 37).
Figure 37: Practising dental therapists by hours worked, preferred hours per week and age group, 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for average hours/week and preferred hours/week, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years).
•	A large majority (80.5%) practised in one location only (Figure 38). 
•	More than half (60.4%) were employed in the public school dental services and 16.2% in public community dental clinics. About half of those in private practice worked in general practice (Figure 39).
Figure 38: Practising dental therapists by number of locations worked and full‑time status, 2006 (per cent)
Vertical bar chart showing, for full-time % and part-time %, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis number of locations worked.
Figure 39: Practising dental therapists by type of practice at main practice location, 2006
Horizontal bar chart showing, for public and private, on the y-axis practise type and on the x-axis percentage practising therapists.
Table 19: Practising dental therapists by sector, age and hours worked in all practice locations, 2006
	Public	Private	Public and private	Total	
	Number employed	
Persons	928	194	49	1,171	
	Percentage	
% female	98.7	99.3	97.3	98.8	
	Average age (years)	
Male	38.6	33.0	44.0	38.6	
Female	43.3	41.4	42.7	43.0	
Persons	43.3	41.3	42.8	42.9	
	Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	31.0	45.0	35.0	33.0	
Female	28.8	22.6	31.1	27.9	
Persons	28.9	22.8	31.2	28.0	
	Percentage part-time	
Male	53.8	0.0	0.0	44.3	
Female	57.7	83.1	60.3	62.0	
Persons	57.6	82.6	58.7	61.8	
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
•	The average age of therapists working in the public sector (43.3 years) was higher than those in the private sector (41.3 years) and in the public and private sectors (42.8 years). Female therapists working in both public and private practices were younger than their male colleagues, but when working in only one type of practice they were older (Table 19). 
•	Therapists working in both public and private practices worked more hours than those who were working in only one sector (public or private) (31.2 hours) (Table 19).
•	A larger proportion (62.0%) of female therapists worked part-time compared with male therapists (44.3%) (Table 19). 
•	Hours dedicated to various areas of practice were totalled for all practice locations. The majority of hours worked (80.1%) were dedicated to dental therapy clinical practice, 8.2% to administration/management and 4.9% to dental hygiene practice. Small percentages were dedicated to teaching/education (2.9%), oral health promotion (1.9%), chair-side assistance (1.1%) research and other areas of practice (0.8%) (Figure 40). 
•	The main reasons stated for working part-time were ‘child rearing’ and ‘personal preference’. These were similar to the reasons provided by hygienists (Figure 41). 
Figure 40: Average hours worked by dental therapists based on area of main practice location, 2006 (per cent)
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis area of practice and on the x-axis per cent.
Figure 41: Practising dental therapists by most common reasons for working part-time, 2006 (per cent)
Vertical bar chart showing on the y-axis per cent, and on the x-axis reasons for working part-time.
Distribution by geographic classification
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising therapists increased in New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory. Queensland had the largest decrease, followed by Western Australia and South Australia (Table 20). 
Table 20: Practising dental therapists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Year	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Total	
2000	216	140	361	331	128	50	19	16	1,121	
2003	195	152	354	309	128	61	22	16	1,236	
2006	225	196	245	286	121	56	19	23	1,171	
•	The number of therapists per 100,000 population ranged from 3.3 in New South Wales to 13.9 in Western Australia. Nationally, the number of FTE dental therapists per 100,000 population, based on a 35-hour week, was less than the practising rate (5.7 and 4.5 respectively) (Figure 42). 
Figure 42: Practising and full-time equivalent dental therapists by state/territory, 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for practising rate and FTE rate, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
•	Average age varied slightly by state/territory, ranging from 40.2 years in Victoria to 44.9 years in the Australian Capital Territory. Female therapists were older than their male colleagues in all states except Tasmania (Table A4.2). 
•	Between 2003 and 2006, average hours worked by therapists decreased slightly. The trend was similar in all states/territories except Western Australia and Tasmania. Male therapists worked more hours than their female colleagues but this trend was opposite in Queensland and South Australia (Table A4.4).
•	In 2006, the number of practising therapists per 100,000 population was highest in Outer regional areas (7.5 practitioners). Between 2003 and 2006, the practising rate across all remoteness areas decreased (Figure 43, Table A4.9).
Figure 43: Practising therapists by remoteness area, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the average age of practising dental therapists across all remoteness areas increased. In 2006, it ranged from 39.9 years in Remote/Very remote areas to 43.3 years in Major cities. Female practitioners in Major cities and Inner regional areas were older than their male colleagues (Table A4.3).
•	The average hours worked decreased across all remoteness areas between 2003 and 2006. In 2006, average hours varied only marginally by remoteness areas, ranging from 27.7 in Inner regional to 29.1 hours in Outer regional areas. Male therapists worked more hours than females in all remoteness areas, except Remote/Very remote areas (Table A4.5).
•	The practising rate of therapists in Major cities ranged from 2.8 in New South Wales to 14.7 in Western Australia; in Inner regional areas from 4.7 in Victoria to 14.8 in Western Australia; in Outer regional areas from 3.9 in New South Wales to 14.6 in Western Australia; and in Remote/Very Remote areas from 2.7 in Western Australia to 8.1 in the Northern Territory (Table A4.9).

 4.4	Oral health therapists
Allied dual practitioners are qualified in both dental therapy and hygiene and are commonly referred to as Oral Health Therapists (OHTs). They are eligible to register as both a dental therapist and dental hygienist but may not necessarily maintain dual registration. 
The emergence of the OHT labour force has followed substantial change in the structure of educational programs. Historically, hygiene and therapy programs were single qualification Advanced Diplomas. Since the early 2000s, these programs have been replaced by Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) courses, training dual qualified hygienists and therapists. 
Information on OHT registrations was available for the five largest states. In 2006 Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory did not have dual practitioners. As the number of OHTs is expected to grow over the coming decade, it is of increasing importance to understand their practice characteristics, and to determine differences from the therapist/hygienist groups. The 2006 collection year was the first year where OHTs were reported separately hence there are no comparisons with earlier time points. 
Figure 44: All registered OHTs in Australia, 2006
Chart showing all registered OHTs in Australia, 2006.
Notes
1. Estimates may not sum to totals due to rounding.
2. Data was collected for NSW, Vic, Qld, WA and SA only.
Overall numbers
•	In 2006, there were 410 OHTs in Australia, with 2.7% having multi-state registrations. Of the 397 in the labour force, 93.5% were actively practising while 2.8% were on leave and 3.8% were looking for work (Figure 44, Table A5.1).
•	There were 1.8 practising OHTs per 100,000 population. The number of full-time equivalent OHTs per 100,000 population was similar, at 1.7 (Table A5.1). 
Demographic characteristics
•	Females accounted for around 95% of practising OHTs. The average age of male OHTs (33.0 years) was younger than females (36.6 years) and the average age of all practitioners was 36.4 years (Table A5.2).
•	18.6% of practising dual practitioners were aged 45–49, while 18.0% were aged 25–29 and 16.3% were aged 30–34 (Figure 45, Table A5.6). 
Figure 45: Practising OHTs by age group, 2006
Line chart showing, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis age group (years).
Practice characteristics
•	OHTs worked for 33.4 hours per week on average. Those in the youngest age group worked the most hours and preferred to work more hours than those in older age groups (Figure 46, Table A5.6).
•	Based on their main practice location, around 60% of OHTs were employed in the private sector: 49.5% in private general practice and 11.9% in private specialist practice; while 38.0% were employed in public practices, of which school dental services comprised 34.3% (Figure 47, Table A5.7).
•	Based on all their practice locations, 28% were employed in the public sector only, 50% in the private sector only, and 22% in both public and private sectors (Table 21). 
•	The average age of OHTs working in only the private sector was lower than the age of those working in public only or both public and private practices (Table 21). 
Table 21: Practising OHTs by sector, age and hours worked in all practice locations, 2006
 	Public	Private	Public and private	Total	
	Number employed	
Persons	104	186	82	371	
	Percentage	
% female	91.6	95.5	97.2	94.8	
	Average age (years)	
Male	33.0	33.1	32.5	33.0	
Female	38.1	35.0	38.4	36.6	
Persons	37.7	34.9	38.2	36.4	
	Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	41.2	35.5	46.7	39.1	
Female	35.8	30.6	35.6	33.2	
Persons	36.2	30.8	35.9	33.4	
	Percentage part-time	
Male	0.0	28.3	0.0	12.2	
Female	26.8	54.6	40.9	44.0	
Persons	24.5	53.4	39.7	42.4	
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
•	OHTs employed in the public sector worked more hours per week than those employed in the private sector only, and those in both public and private sectors (Table 21). 
•	OHTs working in the private sector worked more part-time hours than those in other sectors (Table 21).
Figure 46: OHTs by average hours worked and preferred hours per week, and age group, 2006
Stacked line chart showing, for average hours/week and preferred hours/week, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years),
Figure 47: Practising OHTs by type of practice based on main practice location, 2006
Horizontal bar chart showing, for private and public, on the y-axis practice type and on the x-axis percentage.
Figure 48: Practising OHTs by most common reasons for working part-time, 2006
Vertical bar chart showing, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis reasons for working part-time.
•	The main reason for working part-time was similar to dental hygienists and therapists; ‘child rearing’ (34%) was the most commonly cited reason followed by ‘household duties’ and ‘personal preference’ (26.0%) (Figure 48). 
•	Hours dedicated to various areas of practice were totalled for all practice locations; 51.7% of all hours were dedicated to dental hygiene clinical practice and 39.7% to dental therapy clinical practice. Small percentages were dedicated to administration/management (2.8%), teaching/education (2.5%), oral health promotion (2.1%), chair-side assistance (0.6%), research and other areas of practice (0.6%). 
Figure 49: Average hours worked, by activity by OHTs, 2006 (per cent)
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis area of practice and on the x-axis per cent.
Distribution by geographic classification
•	The number of practising OHTs per 100,000 population ranged from 0.6 in New South Wales to 5.6 in Queensland. The number of full-time equivalent OHTs per 100,000 population was similar to the practising rate, as the average hours worked were very close to 35 hours per week (Figure 50). 
Figure 50: Practising and full-time equivalent OHTs by state/territory, 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for practising rate and FTE rate, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
•	The average age of practising OHTs ranged from 32.8 years in Victoria to 39.9 years in Western Australia. Female OHTs were older than their male colleagues in all states except Victoria (Table A5.2).
•	Male OHTs worked more hours than females in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. OHTs in Victoria worked the longest week (35.4 hours) and those in Western Australia the shortest (25.3 hours) (Table A5.4).
•	Practitioners in Remote/Very remote areas were older (40.5 years), and females were older than males in all areas (Table A5.3).
•	Male OHTs in Major cities and Inner regional areas worked more hours than their female colleagues. OHTs in Remote/Very remote areas (39.2 hours) worked a longer week than those in other areas (Table A5.5). 
4.5	Dental prosthetists
This section presents the findings of the 2006 national dental prosthetist survey. Dental prosthetists are part of the allied dental labour force responsible for the construction and fitting of dentures and sporting mouthguards (see Box 9). Registration of dental prosthetists is with the respective state/territory dental boards. 
Box 9: Services provided by dental prosthetists
Dental prosthetists are responsible for the construction and fitting of dentures and sporting mouthguards. Dental prosthetists maintain, repair and reline dentures either by direct consultation with a patient or by referral from a dentist. A dental prosthetist can provide the following treatment: 
•	the manufacture of dental prostheses, and corrective dental appliances prescribed by a registered dentist or a registered specialist
•	the fitting of, and taking impressions or measurements for the purposes of fitting, a denture to the jaw.
Overall numbers
•	Between 1998 and 2006, the number of practising prosthetists increased gradually from 785 to 921. The practising rate of dental prosthetists per 100,000 population remained relatively stable: 4.2 in 1998, 4.5 in 2002 and 4.4 in 2006 (Table 22).
Table 22: Dental prosthetists and practising rate, 1998 to 2006 (number)
	1998	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	
Number of practising prosthetists	785	872	887	888	878	n.a.	862	921	
Practising rate per 100,000 population	4.2	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	n.a.	4.2	4.4	
Note: There was no data collection in 2004.
•	In 2006, there were 1,080 registered dental prosthetists in Australia. Multi-state registrations contributed to 3.8% (Figure 51, Table A6.1). 
•	Of the total registrations in 2006, an estimated 944 were in the workforce, with 92 not classified as being in the prosthetist labour force as they were either not working in dental prosthesis or were retired from work. Of those in the prosthetist labour force, 921 were employed/practising in dentistry (Figure 51, Table A6.1).
Figure 51: All registered dental prosthetists in Australia, 2006
Chart showing all registered dental prosthetists in Australia, 2006.
Note: Estimates may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Demographic characteristics
•	The representation of females in the prosthetist workforce increased from 8.2% in 2000 to 9.2 in 2003 and 10.0% in 2006. The average age of all practising prosthetists increased from 47.4 years in 2000 to 48.7 in 2003 and 50.1 in 2006. Females were about six years younger than their male colleagues (Table A6.3).
•	The majority (nearly 75%) of practising prosthetists were aged over 40. This increased from 74.4% in 2000 to 82.4% in 2003 and 86.7% in 2006. The percentage of prosthetists younger than 40 years decreased from 25.6% in 2000 to 13.3% in 2006 (Figure 52). 
Figure 52: Practising dental prosthetists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006 
Stacked line chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006. On the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis age group (years).

Practice characteristics
•	In 2006, most prosthetists (75.7%) had been practising for at least 10 years, with 35.9% practising longer than 20 years. This trend was very similar in 2003 (Figure 53).
Figure 53: Practising dental prosthetists by years of practice, 2006
Vertical bar chart showing, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis years of practice.
•	All practising prosthetists worked, on average, 43.0 hours per week. Male prosthetists worked more hours than females (43.8 hours compared with 36.8 hours) (Table A6.7). 
•	Between 2000 and 2006, the average working hours per week remained relatively stable (43.6 hours in 2000 and 43.0 hours in both 2003 and 2006).
•	Across age groups, the average hours worked per week was 41.9 hours in prosthetists aged younger than 35 years, peaking at 45.9 hours for those aged 35–39 and then decreasing across older age groups. Males worked more hours than females in all age groups. The average hours worked by females were inconsistent, with fewer practising hours reported in the 40–44 and 55–59 years age groups (Table A6.7).
•	In 2006, 77.5% of all prosthetists practised in only one location, 18.3% practised in two locations and 4.5% practised in three locations. Based on their main practice location, 90.5% of practising prosthetists were employed in the private sector. 
Only 7% worked in a government clinic or laboratory. Of practising prosthetists, 81.5% were self‑employed, 7.7% were employees in private practice and 1.3% were employees in commercial laboratories. Very small percentages worked in a public educational institution (1.6%) or ‘other’ practice type (0.9%) (Figure 54, Table A6.8).
Figure 54: Practising dental prosthetists by type of practice, 2006
Horizontal bar chart showing, on the y-axis practice type and on the x-axis percentage practising prosthetists.
Based on all practice locations, 89.1% of practising prosthetists were employed only in the private sector, 5.0% were working only in the public sector and 5.9% were working in both sectors. Only 9.1% of prosthetists in the private sector were female, less than the proportion of females working only in the public sector (18.2%) and in both sectors (17.2%) (Table 23).
The average age of all practising prosthetists was higher in the public sector (50.8 years) than the private sector (50.2 years). Moreover, the prosthetists who practised in both sectors were relatively younger (47.8 years) than those who worked only in the public or private sector (Table 23).
Prosthetists in the public sector worked fewer hours per week (38.8 hours) than those in the private sector (42.6 hours). But the prosthetists working in both sectors practised for longer hours (53.1 hours) (Table 23).
The average clinic hours worked per week ranged from 22.9 in the public sector to 17.8 in the private sector and 25.0 for prosthetists working in both sectors (Table 23).
Prosthetists who worked only in the private sector had more laboratory hours (24.5 hours per week) than those in the public sector or both sectors (Table 23).
Around 20% of prosthetists in the private sector worked part-time. This was similar to the public sector (16.8% working part-time) and those working in both sectors (15.8%) (Table 23).
Table 23: Practising dental prosthetists by sector, age and hours worked, 2006
 	Public	Private	Public and private	Total	
	Number employed	
Persons	46	820	54	921	
	Percentage	
% female	18.2	9.1	17.2	10.0	
	Average age (years)	
Male	52.9	50.9	47.6	50.8	
Female	41.4	44.0	48.4	44.2	
Persons	50.8	50.2	47.8	50.1	
	Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	40.5	43.2	55.3	43.8	
Female	31.3	36.7	42.5	36.8	
Persons	38.8	42.6	53.1	43.0	
	Average clinical hours worked per week	
Male	23.4	18.0	25.8	18.6	
Female	20.0	15.5	19.6	16.0	
Persons	22.9	17.8	25.0	18.3	
	Average laboratory hours worked per week	
Male	24.7	25.0	19.3	24.8	
Female	15.3	19.8	22.0	19.8	
Persons	23.1	24.5	19.8	24.2	
	Percentage part-time	
Male	6.9	18.9	7.2	17.6	
Female	9.9	2.9	8.6	3.6	
Persons	16.8	21.8	15.8	21.2	
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
•	Prosthetists working part-time (less than 35 hours per week) were asked to indicate their major reasons for doing so. The most common reasons given were ‘personal preference’ (30.5%) and ‘insufficient work available’ (28.8%) (Figure 55).
Figure 55: Practising dental prosthetists by most common reason for working part-time, 2006 (per cent)
Vertical bar chart showing, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis reasons for working part-time.
•	While 13.4% of practising dental prosthetists worked in mainly clinical practice, 33.2% worked mainly in laboratory practice and 53.3% worked in both clinical and laboratory practices (see Box 10, Table A6.2). 
•	The average age of practising prosthetists in mainly laboratory practice (48.1 years) was marginally younger than those working mainly in clinical practice (50.1 years) and those working in both clinical and laboratory practices (49.5 years) (see Box 10, Table A6.2). 
Box 10: Clinical versus laboratory practice
Hours dedicated to various areas of practice were totalled for all practice locations and used to categorise practitioners into practice area groups. Prosthetists who worked more hours in clinical practice than laboratory practice were categorised as working ‘mainly in clinical practice’. Prosthetists who dedicated 70% or more of hours worked to clinical practices were categorised as working ‘mainly clinical’; those who worked fewer than 30% clinical hours as working ‘mainly laboratory’ and the remaining prosthetists were categorised as ‘clinical and laboratory’. 

•	Prosthetists were asked to estimate the number of dentures completed or repaired in the past week by denture type (full/partial). Dentures completed/repaired were totalled for all practice locations worked. It was estimated that, on average, dental prosthetists completed 4.6 full dentures and 3.2 partial dentures, and repaired 3.0 full dentures and 2.4 partial dentures, per week (Table A6.11).
•	The completion of full dentures comprised 35% of all denture services, followed by completion of partial dentures (25%), repair of full dentures (22%) and repair of partial dentures (18%). The percentage of completed/repaired dentures was similar across practice types. Prosthetists in mainly clinical practice, laboratory practice or both clinical and laboratory practices all made more new complete and partial dentures when compared with those repaired (Figure 56, Figure 57).
Figure 56: Dentures completed or repaired by practising dental prosthetists, 2006 (per cent)
Pie chart showing, full dentures repaired 22%, partial dentures completed 25%, partial dentures repaired 18% and full dentures completed 35%.
Figure 57: Full and partial denture services by main practice setting of dental prosthetists, 2006 (per cent)
Vertical bar chart showing, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis main practice setting.
Distribution by geographic classification
This subsection presents the geographic distribution of prosthetists across states/territories (jurisdictions) and remoteness areas. All the characteristics described separately earlier such as age, sex, hours worked per week, area and type of practice are now classified based on this geographic categorisation. 
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the number of practising dental prosthetists increased in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. The increase was highest in New South Wales (10.2%), followed by South Australia (6.4%). Tasmania recorded the largest decrease (Table 24).
Table 24: Practising dental prosthetists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	NT	ACT	Total	
297	117	60	27	52	. .	16	872	
268	125	84	29	50	. . 	15	878	
258	145	86	31	44	. . 	14	921	
Figure 58: Dental prosthetists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis state/territory.
•	The practising rate of dental prosthetists per 100,000 population in 2006 ranged from 
2.0 in South Australia, to 5.0 in New South Wales and Victoria, and 9.0 in Tasmania. Even though Tasmania had the greatest decrease in the number of prosthetists, the practising rate continues to be higher than in other jurisdictions. 
•	Between 2003 and 2006, the average age increased across all jurisdictions except South Australia. In 2006, the average age of prosthetists by state/territory was lowest in Victoria (48.4 years) and highest in the Australian Capital Territory (56.0 years). Female prosthetists were younger than their male colleagues in all jurisdictions (Table A6.3).
•	There was some variation among states/territories in the average hours worked. Prosthetists working in Western Australia worked the fewest hours (37.7 hours), followed by South Australia (39.5 hours). Prosthetists in the Australian Capital Territory worked 46.4 hours per week, at least 3 hours more than the national average of 43.0 hours. Between 2003 and 2006, the average hours worked per week increased only in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Queensland remained stable at 43.5 hours, and all other jurisdictions recorded a decrease. The national average remained the same, at 43.0 hours per week (Table A6.5). 
•	In 2006, the practising rate of prosthetists varied across remoteness areas, ranging from 5.9 in Inner regional areas to 0.9 in Remote/Very remote areas. Between 2003 and 2006, the practising rate decreased in all areas except Inner regional areas (Figure 59, Table A6.4).
Figure 59: Practising dental prosthetists by remoteness area, 2000, 2003 and 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, for 2000, 2003 and 2006, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes areas.
•	Average ages of employed prosthetists were similar across remoteness areas, ranging from 49.5 years in Inner regional areas to 48.7 years in Outer regional areas (Table A6.4). 
•	Prosthetists in Remote/Very remote areas worked more hours (47.5 per week) than those in other areas. This was similar between the sexes (Table A6.6). 
5	Discussion
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a picture of some of the changes across the Australian dental labour force over time. It presents comparisons between general dental practitioners, specialists, hygienists, therapists, dual practitioners and prosthetists. 
Composition of the dental labour force 
In 2006, the dental labour force was dominated by general dental practitioners (67%) and specialists (nearly 10%). Prosthetists comprised 7% of the labour force, hygienists 5%, therapists 9% and OHTs 2% (Table 25). 
Table 25: Net growth of the dental labour force, 2003 and 2006
 	Type of practitioner	
 	GDPs	Specialists	Hygienists(a)	Therapists(a)	OHTs (a)	Prosthetists	
	Full-time equivalent practitioners, 2003(b)	
Male	7,040	1,206	18	18	. .	996	
Female	2,240	216	468	1,020	. .	81	
Persons	9,278	1,423	486	1,038	. .	1,077	
	Full-time equivalent practitioners, 2006(b)	
Male	7,187	1,311	19	14	22	1,036	
Female	2,686	247	536	923	334	97	
Persons	9,874	1,558	555	937	356	1,132	
	Net growth	
Male	2.1	8.7	4.3	–24.7	. .	4.0	
Female	19.9	14.4	14.4	–9.5	. .	20.2	
Persons	6.4	9.5	14.1	–9.7	. .	5.1	
(a) OHT data were first collected in 2006. In 2003 OHTs were categorised as either hygienists or therapists. Caution is advised when interpreting the change in numbers in these groups.
(b) FTE practitioner is based on working 35 hours per week, calculated by multiplying the number of practitioners by the average hours worked per week and dividing the result by 35.
Between 2003 and 2006, the net growth of hygienists, therapists and OHTs combined was at least twice that of dentists. Although supplying only a minority of dental visits, oral health practitioners provide services to a variety of defined population groups in a range of settings (such as children in school dental clinics, residents in residential care facilities). 
Practice setting and activity
The Australian dental labour force is predominantly based in the private sector. In 2006, four‑fifths of general practitioner dentists worked only in the private sector. This trend was similar among dental specialists, hygienists and prosthetists. The only group that was predominantly public were therapists (79.2% in the public sector). OHTs were more varied: 50% worked only in private practices, around 28% worked only in public practices and around 22% worked in both sectors (Figure 60). However, this is a rapidly emerging group, and future distribution across sectors is likely to shift over the next decade. 
Figure 60: Practising dental labour force by sector of practice, 2006
Vertical bar chart showing, for public only, private only and public and private, on the y-axis per cent and on the x-axis type of practitioner.
Note: Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
In the decade to 2006, there was only a slight decrease in hours worked. Female participation in the dentist labour force has continued to grow and may affect the average hours worked per week. More female dentists work part-time and have more career breaks (Brennan et al. 1992). It has been projected that by 2020 around 40% of the dental labour force will be female (Teusner et al. 2008). The average hours worked by OHTs is notably higher than therapists and hygienists across all age groups, indicating that this newly emerging university-qualified group may have different career patterns than their counterparts. 
Geographic distribution
With the exception of therapists, the geographic distribution of the dental labour force varies. Practising rates are highest in the most populous areas and lowest in the least populous areas. There are more therapists per 100,000 population in Inner regional and Outer regional areas than in Major cities. Remote and Very remote areas have more therapists than other allied practitioners per 100,000 population. The geographic distribution of OHTs is relatively even (with the exception of Remote/Very remote Areas), but as the group continues to grow, its regional distribution may alter (Figure 61). 
Figure 61: Practising dental labour force by remoteness area of main practice, 2006 
(per 100,000 population)
Vertical bar chart showing, on the y-axis rate and on the x-axis remoteness area.
Note: Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
The rate of public sector dentists per 100,000 population varied by state/territory and remoteness area, reflecting variations in state and territory oral health policies and availability of training programs (Table 26). The establishment of new schools in regional areas was largely aimed at increasing supply of practitioners in regional areas. However, the impact of the new schools will not be evident until 2010-15 (ARCPOH 2008). 
Table 26: Full-time equivalent public dentists by remoteness area of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Remoteness area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	FTE public dentists per 100,000 population(a)	
Major city	9.3	7.8	11.1	10.0	13.0	..	1.6	..	9.4	
Inner regional	4.8	3.9	9.0	3.7	4.9	4.7	–	..	5.4	
Outer regional	2.6	5.4	9.6	2.4	3.3	–	..	17.1	5.9	
Remote/Very remote	–	–	5.6	4.4	–	–	..	21.8	7.1	
Total	7.9	6.9	10.2	8.1	10.4	3.0	1.6	19.2	8.2	
(a) FTE practitioner is based on working 35 hours per week. This is obtained by multiplying the number of dentists by the average hours worked per week and dividing the result by 35. 
Notes 
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
2. Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Appendix A: Data tables
A1	Dentist tables
Table A1.1: Registered dentists by work status, sex and state/territory, 2006
Work status	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Total %	
	Male			
Working in dentistry(a)	2,580	1,658	1,462	590	774	130	43	152	7,390	85.6	
Mainly in another state	71	39	37	15	12	2	8	5	188	2.2	
Only in another state	100	30	50	7	29	—	2	6	222	2.6	
On leave	188	2	10	—	2	2	—	—	203	2.4	
Overseas	7	65	105	6	16	—	2	7	207	2.4	
Not working	69	27	45	7	22	5	—	3	177	2.1	
Not working in dentistry	29	16	—	9	1	2	2	—	58	0.7	
Retired	99	27	11	6	32	2	2	7	185	2.1	
Total	3,142	1,863	1,720	640	888	142	58	179	8,632	100.0	
	Female			
Working in dentistry(a)	981	791	566	236	297	42	36	66	3,014	84.2	
Mainly in another state	18	3	7	—	3	—	4	3	38	1.1	
Only in another state	31	7	12	5	15	1	6	2	78	2.2	
On leave	61	23	11	4	8	—	—	3	110	3.1	
Overseas	29	39	43	6	8	—	—	3	129	3.6	
Not working	50	39	22	4	9	—	—	—	123	3.4	
Not working in dentistry	18	14	—	—	14	—	2	—	48	1.3	
Retired	22	5	5	1	4	—	—	3	41	1.1	
Total	1,212	920	666	255	356	43	47	81	3,580	100.0	
	Persons			
Working in dentistry(a)	3,561	2,449	2,028	826	1,071	172	78	218	10,404	85.2	
Mainly in another state	89	41	44	15	15	2	12	8	226	1.8	
Only in another state	130	36	62	12	43	1	7	7	300	2.5	
On leave	249	25	21	4	9	2	—	3	313	2.6	
Overseas	37	104	148	12	24	—	2	10	336	2.8	
Not working	119	66	66	10	31	5	—	3	301	2.5	
Not working in dentistry	47	29	—	9	15	2	4	—	106	0.9	
Retired	122	32	16	7	36	2	2	10	226	1.8	
Total	4,354	2,783	2,386	895	1,244	185	105	260	12,212	100.0	
Employed in state/territory(a) (%)	81.8	88.0	85.0	92.3	86.1	93.0	74.7	84.0	85.2	. .	
Proportion female (%) 	27.6	32.3	27.9	28.5	27.7	24.1	45.3	30.2	29.0	. .	
Practising rate(b)	52.2	47.7	49.6	52.7	52.0	35.1	37.2	65.3	50.3	. .	
Registered dentists rate	63.9	54.3	58.3	57.1	60.4	37.8	49.8	77.8	59.0	. .	
FTE rate (35 hours per week)(c)	60.4	50.5	54.2	54.3	55.4	37.6	44.0	75.5	55.2	. .	
FTE rate (37.5 hours per week)(c)	56.4	47.2	50.6	50.7	51.7	35.1	41.1	70.5	51.5	. .	
FTE rate (40 hours per week)(c)	52.9	44.2	47.4	47.5	48.4	32.9	38.5	66.1	48.3	. .	
(a) Practising solely or mainly in state/territory of registration.
(b) Practising rate: the number of practising dentists per 100,000 population.
(c) Full-time equivalent dentists per 100,000 population. Calculated by multiplying the number of practising dentists by the average weekly hours worked and then dividing by a reference week (35, 37.5 and 40 hours per week have been provided). This value is then population standardised to allow comparisons with other states/territories.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.2: Registered dentists by work status, sex and age group, 2006	
	Age group (years)		
Work status	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Male		
Working in dentistry(a)	643	1,432	1,983	2,062	1,270	7,390	
Mainly in another state	13	28	34	70	44	188	
Only in another state	16	42	68	64	34	222	
On leave	15	36	51	65	36	203	
Overseas	18	42	59	63	26	207	
Not working	9	28	24	37	79	177	
Not working in dentistry	—	9	12	25	10	58	
Retired	—	4	7	17	157	185	
Total	714	1,621	2,237	2,404	1,655	8,632	
	Female		
Working in dentistry(a)	636	1,029	827	443	78	3,014	
Mainly in another state	10	9	8	8	—	38	
Only in another state	14	28	19	12	5	78	
On leave	19	62	19	8	—	110	
Overseas	33	50	31	12	—	129	
Not working	18	35	35	24	12	123	
Not working in dentistry	—	15	17	15	—	48	
Retired	—	—	6	14	19	41	
Total	732	1,229	962	537	121	3,580	
	Persons		
Working in dentistry(a)	1,279	2,461	2,810	2,505	1,348	10,404	
Mainly in another state	23	36	42	79	46	226	
Only in another state	29	70	87	76	39	300	
On leave	34	99	69	74	37	313	
Overseas	51	91	90	75	28	336	
Not working	27	63	59	61	91	301	
Not working in dentistry	3	25	28	40	10	106	
Retired	—	5	12	31	177	226	
Total	1,446	2,850	3,198	2,941	1,776	12,212	
(a) Practising solely or mainly in state/territory of registration.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.3: Practising dentists by hours worked per week, sex and age group, 2006
Hours worked per week	Age group (years)	 	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Male		
<10	8	10	7	11	60	96	
10–19	11	37	25	54	153	280	
20–29	38	48	58	127	196	467	
30–39	206	423	438	624	429	2,121	
40–49	303	616	973	883	313	3,089	
50–59	51	193	331	249	77	902	
60+	24	105	150	115	42	436	
Total	643	1,432	1,983	2,062	1,270	7,390	
	Female		
<10	13	44	23	10	6	96	
10–19	15	141	105	43	11	315	
20–29	49	181	138	74	24	465	
30–39	250	287	298	146	17	997	
40–49	269	291	196	127	13	896	
50–59	26	62	41	30	5	163	
60+	16	24	26	14	3	82	
Total	636	1,029	827	443	78	3,014	
	Persons		
<10	21	54	30	20	66	192	
10–19	26	179	130	97	164	595	
20–29	87	229	196	200	219	932	
30–39	456	709	736	770	447	3,118	
40–49	572	907	1,169	1,010	326	3,984	
50–59	77	255	372	279	82	1,065	
60+	40	129	176	129	45	519	
Total	1,279	2,461	2,810	2,505	1,348	10,404	
	Average hours worked per week		
Males	39.5	41.8	43.2	40.7	33.4	40.2	
Females	38.0	32.4	33.2	34.7	28.4	34.1	
Persons	38.7	37.9	40.3	39.7	33.1	38.5	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.4: Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex and age group, 2006
Area of main practice	Age group (years)	 	Average age	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total		
	Male			
General practice	595	1,225	1,627	1,650	990	6,087	47.0	
Registered specialist	16	149	298	311	188	961	50.3	
Restricted practice	6	7	18	23	20	73	52.0	
Administration	1	9	14	21	13	59	51.0	
Teaching/education	15	21	19	37	33	124	50.6	
Research	4	6	1	2	6	20	47.4	
Other	5	16	6	19	20	65	50.3	
Total	643	1,432	1,983	2,062	1,270	7,390	47.6	
	Female			
General practice	601	913	714	368	64	2,660	38.5	
Registered specialist	14	73	72	38	3	200	41.8	
Restricted practice	3	4	4	10	—	20	44.2	
Administration	—	4	7	7	 1	19	46.9	
Teaching/education	10	20	18	13	7	67	42.9	
Research	2	3	3	2	1	11	44.8	
Other	6	12	11	5	2	37	40.2	
Total	636	1,029	827	443	78	3,014	38.9	
	Persons			
General practice	1,196	2,138	2,342	2,017	1,054	8,747	44.4	
Registered specialist	30	222	369	349	190	1,161	48.8	
Restricted practice	8	11	21	33	20	93	50.3	
Administration	1	12	21	28	15	77	50.0	
Teaching/education	25	40	37	49	39	191	47.8	
Research	7	9	4	5	8	31	46.5	
Other	11	28	16	24	22	102	46.6	
Total	1,279	2,461	2,810	2,505	1,348	10,404	45.1	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.5: Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex and hours worked per week, 2006
Area of main practice	Total hours worked per week	 	Average hours	
	<10	10–19	20–29	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total		
	Male			
General practice	64	199	371	1,810	2,645	694	305	6,087	40.1	
Registered specialist	11	39	61	234	344	171	102	961	42.6	
Restricted practice	5	9	11	18	24	3	3	73	33.8	
Administration	—	3	1	20	21	9	5	59	41.6	
Teaching/education	11	22	14	17	28	16	17	124	34.8	
Research	1	1	2	6	6	3	1	20	40.2	
Other	5	6	6	16	20	7	4	65	34.8	
Total	96	280	467	2,121	3,089	902	436	7,390	40.2	
	Female			
General practice	85	277	417	898	805	116	62	2,660	33.8	
Registered specialist	1	20	29	54	54	25	15	200	37.7	
Restricted practice	1	4	5	8	3	—	—	20	28.5	
Administration	1	—	2	5	8	2	—	19	37.3	
Teaching/education	8	10	6	13	12	14	3	67	33.3	
Research	—	1	1	3	5	1	—	11	34.0	
Other	—	2	4	17	9	4	1	37	36.1	
Total	96	315	465	997	896	163	82	3,014	34.1	
	Persons			
General practice	148	476	788	2,707	3,450	810	367	8,747	38.2	
Registered specialist	12	59	91	288	398	196	117	1,161	41.8	
Restricted practice	6	13	16	26	27	3	3	93	32.6	
Administration	1	3	4	25	29	12	5	77	40.6	
Teaching/education	19	32	20	30	41	30	20	191	34.3	
Research	1	2	3	9	11	4	1	31	38.1	
Other	5	9	10	33	29	11	5	102	35.3	
Total	192	595	932	3,118	3,984	1,065	519	10,404	38.5	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.6: Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and age group, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Age group (years)	 	Average age	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total		
	Male			
Public								
Dental hospital	66	61	38	57	78	300	46.6	
Mainly school dental	3	6	18	30	13	69	51.1	
Mainly general dental	38	42	64	58	54	256	46.7	
Defence forces	15	19	8	7	4	53	38.2	
Other public	11	27	30	43	31	141	49.2	
Tertiary education institution	10	18	18	32	26	105	50.2	
	Total	143	171	175	227	207	923		
Private								
Solo	52	394	700	782	515	2,442	50.5	
Solo with assistant	89	202	423	377	127	1,218	47.0	
Partnership	23	165	203	179	70	640	46.3	
Associateship	77	241	325	344	163	1,151	47.4	
Assistant	227	222	121	97	109	776	40.3	
Locum	10	18	14	21	43	106	51.2	
Health fund	16	13	12	8	11	60	42.5	
	Total	494	1,256	1,798	1,807	1,038	6,393		
Other								
Other	6	5	10	27	25	74	56.5	
Total	643	1,432	1,983	2,062	1,270	7,390	47.6	
	Female			
Public								
Dental hospital	89	75	42	23	5	234	35.4	
Mainly school dental	7	18	17	15	3	60	42.8	
Mainly general dental	50	83	63	44	6	246	39.2	
Defence forces	6	16	10	7	3	41	40.4	
Other public	5	20	28	16	3	73	43.7	
Tertiary education institution	8	17	21	15	8	70	44.1	
	Total	165	229	182	121	28	724		
Private								
Solo	27	128	165	110	20	450	44.0	
Solo with assistant	49	104	126	61	4	345	40.7	
Partnership	28	81	90	44	8	251	41.8	
Associateship	55	132	84	35	5	312	37.6	
Assistant	284	294	148	57	8	790	34.9	
Locum	5	16	14	4	1	41	39.5	
Health fund	17	25	11	3	1	57	35.0	
	Total	465	780	639	314	48	2,246		
Other								
Other	7	20	7	8	2	44	39.9	
Total	636	1,029	827	443	78	3,014	38.9	
							(continued)	

Table A1.6 (continued): Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and age group, 2006 
Sector/type of main practice	Age group (years)	 	Average age	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total		
	Persons			
Public								
Dental hospital	156	136	80	80	82	534	41.5	
Mainly school dental	9	24	35	45	17	130	47.2	
Mainly general dental	88	124	127	102	60	502	43.0	
Defence forces	20	35	18	14	7	94	39.2	
Other public	16	47	58	59	34	213	47.4	
Tertiary education institution	19	35	39	48	34	175	47.7	
	Total	308	400	357	348	235	1,647		
Private								
Solo	79	522	865	891	535	2,892	49.5	
Solo with assistant	138	306	549	438	132	1,563	45.6	
Partnership	51	247	293	223	77	891	45.0	
Associateship	133	373	409	380	168	1,462	45.3	
Assistant	511	516	269	154	117	1,566	37.5	
Locum	15	35	28	25	45	147	47.9	
Health fund	33	38	23	11	13	118	38.8	
	Total	959	2,036	2,437	2,122	1,086	8,639		
Other								
Other	13	25	17	36	27	118	50.0	
Total	1,279	2,461	2,810	2,505	1,348	10,404	45.1	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.7: Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and hours worked per week, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Total hours worked per week	 	Average hours	
	<10	10–19	20–29	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total		
	Male			
Public										
Dental hospital	10	43	12	92	112	16	14	300	35.9	
Mainly school dental	—	3	9	34	21	—	3	69	37.1	
Mainly general dental	3	7	28	121	84	12	1	256	36.9	
Defence forces	—	4	1	25	15	6	1	53	37.8	
Other public	5	10	14	45	42	10	14	141	38.7	
Tertiary education institution	10	11	10	15	25	16	18	105	38.7	
Total	28	78	73	333	299	60	53	923		
Private										
Solo	21	42	141	610	1,077	371	180	2,442	42.0	
Solo with assistant	4	10	44	275	590	209	86	1,218	42.9	
Partnership	1	5	24	200	311	67	32	640	41.8	
Associateship	17	41	58	346	495	133	62	1,151	40.2	
Assistant	15	78	91	292	248	41	12	776	34.5	
Locum	9	14	20	28	22	8	4	106	31.7	
Health fund	—	5	2	22	22	6	2	60	38.3	
Total	67	195	381	1,773	2,764	834	379	6,393		
Other										
Other	1	7	13	15	26	8	4	74	36.1	
Total	96	280	467	2,121	3,089	902	436	7,390	40.2	
	Female			
Public										
Dental hospital	8	31	18	75	83	9	9	234	35.1	
Mainly school dental	—	9	12	25	10	1	3	60	33.5	
Mainly general dental	6	23	41	100	60	12	4	246	34.0	
Defence forces	—	5	5	16	12	1	2	41	35.4	
Other public	—	4	11	28	21	4	5	73	38.0	
Tertiary education institution	5	10	7	18	12	14	2	70	34.1	
Total	19	82	95	263	199	42	26	724		
Private										
Solo	8	20	46	136	174	49	17	450	38.2	
Solo with assistant	3	29	41	124	111	23	14	345	36.3	
Partnership	9	20	50	84	72	9	7	251	33.4	
Associateship	8	32	66	97	93	10	5	312	32.7	
Assistant	43	113	142	247	208	29	10	790	31.1	
Locum	4	9	5	11	9	—	2	41	28.9	
Health fund	1	7	13	15	20	1	—	57	32.8	
Total	76	230	363	713	687	121	55	2,246		
Other										
Other	1	3	8	20	10	—	1	44	35.5	
Total	96	315	465	997	896	163	82	3,014	34.1	
									(continued)	

Table A1.7 (continued): Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and hours worked per week, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Total hours worked per week	 	Average hours	
	<10	10–19	20–29	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total		
	Persons			
Public										
Dental hospital	18	74	31	167	195	25	23	534	35.6	
Mainly school dental	—	11	20	60	31	1	6	130	35.4	
Mainly general dental	9	30	69	221	144	24	6	502	35.5	
Defence forces	—	9	6	42	26	7	4	94	36.8	
Other public	5	14	25	72	64	14	19	213	38.4	
Tertiary education institution	15	21	17	34	38	30	21	175	36.9	
Total	46	160	168	596	497	102	78	1,647		
Private										
Solo	29	62	186	746	1,251	420	198	2,892	41.4	
Solo with assistant	6	39	85	399	700	232	101	1,563	41.5	
Partnership	10	26	74	283	382	76	39	891	39.4	
Associateship	25	73	124	442	588	142	67	1,462	38.6	
Assistant	57	190	233	539	456	69	22	1,566	32.8	
Locum	14	23	25	40	31	8	6	147	30.8	
Health fund	1	12	15	37	42	7	2	118	35.7	
Total	143	425	743	2,486	3,451	956	434	8,639		
Other										
Other	3	10	20	35	36	8	6	118	35.9	
Total	192	595	932	3,118	3,984	1,065	519	10,404	38.5	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.8: Practising dentists by area of practice, sector and age group, 2006
Area of practice	Age group (years)		
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Public sector		
General practice							
Male	92	90	90	128	123	522	
Female	121	149	118	75	16	478	
Total	213	238	207	202	139	1,000	
Specialist/restricted practice		
Male	4	12	16	14	23	69	
Female	5	16	12	13	—	46	
Total	9	28	27	27	23	114	
Other							
Male	21	34	29	53	45	182	
Female	6	25	26	21	10	89	
Total	27	59	55	75	56	272	
Total							
Male	117	136	134	195	191	773	
Female	132	190	155	109	26	612	
Total	250	325	290	304	217	1,386	
	Private sector		
General practice							
Male	443	1,063	1,445	1,445	831	5,227	
Female	403	677	546	259	43	1,927	
Total	846	1,740	1,991	1,704	873	7,154	
Specialist/restricted practice		
Male	13	119	250	271	152	805	
Female	11	41	51	24	3	129	
Total	24	161	300	296	154	934	
Other							
Male	—	5	3	8	6	22	
Female	6	2	2	3	1	15	
Total	6	7	5	11	7	37	
Total							
Male	456	1,188	1,698	1,724	988	6,054	
Female	420	721	599	287	47	2,072	
Total	876	1,908	2,297	2,010	1,035	8,126	
						(continued)	

Table A1.8 (continued): Practising dentists by area of practice, sector and age group, 2006
Area of practice	Age group (years)	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Public and private sectors	
General practice							
Male	60	72	92	77	36	338	
Female	77	88	51	34	6	255	
Total	136	160	143	111	42	593	
Specialist/restricted practice		
Male	5	24	50	48	34	160	
Female	1	21	14	11	—	48	
Total	6	45	64	59	34	208	
Other							
Male	5	12	8	18	21	65	
Female	6	11	9	2	—	29	
Total	11	23	18	20	21	94	
Total							
Male	69	109	151	143	91	563	
Female	84	120	74	47	6	332	
Total	154	229	225	191	97	895	
	Total	
General practice							
Male	595	1,225	1,627	1,650	990	6,087	
Female	601	913	714	368	64	2,660	
Total	1,196	2,138	2,342	2,017	1,054	8,747	
Specialist/restricted practice		
Male	22	156	315	334	208	1,034	
Female	17	78	75	48	3	220	
Total	39	233	390	382	210	1,254	
Other							
Male	26	52	40	79	72	269	
Female	19	38	38	27	11	134	
Total	45	90	78	106	84	402	
Total							
Male	643	1,432	1,983	2,062	1,270	7,390	
Female	636	1,029	827	443	78	3,014	
Total	1,279	2,461	2,810	2,505	1,348	10,404	
Notes
1. Sector of practice was determined by the practitioner’s reported type of practice at main, second and third practice locations.
2: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates
Table A1.9: Practising dentists by age, sex and state/territory, 2006 
Age	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Male		
<25	17	20	25	20	3	2	3	—	91	
25–29	203	142	129	43	30	2	3	—	552	
30–34	235	163	144	68	62	15	7	2	694	
35–39	289	167	142	80	49	12	—	—	738	
40–44	266	207	166	89	36	7	11	7	790	
45–49	442	226	243	128	83	25	43	2	1,192	
50–54	378	222	184	113	116	21	43	10	1,087	
55–59	325	208	155	111	116	23	26	11	975	
60–64	192	160	147	63	67	12	7	9	656	
65–69	112	92	74	42	13	7	3	—	342	
70–74	82	28	36	8	11	3	6	—	175	
75+	39	22	17	9	4	3	—	2	97	
Total	2,580	1,658	1,462	774	590	130	152	43	7,390	
	Female		
<25	14	25	22	12	11	3	—	4	91	
25–29	169	155	108	52	35	7	13	6	545	
30–34	194	155	95	66	48	6	3	6	572	
35–39	165	110	85	44	31	7	13	2	457	
40–44	125	139	94	50	31	3	7	4	453	
45–49	144	83	72	31	28	4	10	2	375	
50–54	111	70	55	17	33	—	16	10	312	
55–59	33	33	18	16	14	9	3	4	131	
60–64	14	16	10	6	2	1	—	—	50	
65–69	7	2	4	2	—	—	—	—	15	
70–74	3	2	2	—	—	—	—	—	7	
75+	1	2	1	—	2	—	—	—	6	
Total	981	791	566	297	236	42	66	36	3,014	
	Persons		
<25	31	45	47	32	14	5	3	4	181	
25–29	372	297	237	96	65	9	16	6	1,098	
30–34	429	318	238	134	110	21	10	7	1,267	
35–39	454	276	226	124	80	19	13	2	1,195	
40–44	392	347	260	139	67	10	18	11	1,243	
45–49	586	309	315	160	112	29	53	4	1,567	
50–54	489	291	239	130	149	21	60	19	1,399	
55–59	358	241	174	127	130	32	29	15	1,106	
60–64	205	176	158	69	69	13	7	9	707	
65–69	119	94	78	44	13	7	3	—	357	
70–74	86	30	38	8	11	3	6	—	182	
75+	40	24	18	9	6	3	—	2	103	
Total	3,561	2,449	2,028	1,071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
	Average age (years)		
Males	47.7	47.2	47.0	47.4	48.9	50.1	50.2	53.7	47.6	
Females	39.3	38.4	38.7	38.2	39.7	39.9	41.3	40.3	38.9	
Persons	45.4	44.4	44.7	44.8	46.3	47.6	47.5	47.6	45.1	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A1.10: Practising dentists by age group, sex, average hours worked per week and state/territory, 2006 
Age group
(years)	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	 Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Male	
<30	41.3	37.6	39.9	39.4	35.5	40.0	43.0	—	39.5	
30–39	44.5	40.2	39.8	41.2	40.4	39.3	59.0	40.0	41.8	
40–49	45.3	43.1	42.4	41.2	39.6	42.5	41.4	43.4	43.2	
50–59	42.9	39.9	40.5	39.6	37.7	38.7	41.9	43.9	40.7	
60+	33.7	32.3	34.8	31.9	34.2	34.7	28.1	32.5	33.4	
Total	42.2	39.2	39.7	39.1	37.9	39.0	41.1	40.5	40.2	
	Female	
<30	39.8	36.4	38.5	38.2	35.0	36.3	36.6	47.2	38.0	
30–39	35.2	30.6	32.3	30.9	29.1	30.5	37.6	33.3	32.4	
40–49	34.5	32.7	32.4	30.9	31.8	33.6	42.4	34.0	33.2	
50–59	35.9	32.2	36.7	30.1	31.8	32.3	39.2	46.4	34.7	
60+	32.0	25.2	27.6	29.9	22.5	27.2	—	—	28.4	
Total	35.9	32.6	34.3	32.4	31.4	32.8	39.1	42.4	34.1	
	Persons	
<30	40.6	37.0	39.2	38.8	35.2	37.2	38.8	47.2	38.7	
30–39	40.7	35.8	36.9	36.9	35.7	36.3	43.7	34.6	37.9	
40–49	42.3	39.5	39.6	38.4	37.1	40.8	41.6	40.7	40.3	
50–59	41.7	38.4	39.8	38.4	36.7	37.6	41.2	44.9	39.7	
60+	33.6	31.8	34.5	31.8	33.6	34.2	28.1	32.5	33.1	
Total	40.5	37.0	38.2	37.3	36.1	37.5	40.5	41.4	38.5	
	Average hours worked	
Males	42.2	39.2	39.7	39.1	37.9	39.0	41.1	40.5	40.2	
Females	35.9	32.6	34.3	32.4	31.4	32.8	39.1	42.4	34.1	
Persons	40.5	37.0	38.2	37.3	36.1	37.5	40.5	41.4	38.5	

Table A1.11: Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex and state/territory, 2006 
Area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Male		
General practice	2,197	1,326	1,213	627	454	114	119	37	6,087	
Registered specialist	301	247	186	98	78	15	31	4	961	
Restricted practice	—	17	20	19	13	2	2	—	73	
Administration	12	13	19	7	7	—	—	—	59	
Teaching/education	37	30	17	15	26	—	—	—	124	
Research	6	5	1	—	8	—	—	—	20	
Other	27	19	6	8	5	—	—	2	65	
Total	2,580	1,658	1,462	774	590	130	152	43	7,390	
	Female		
General practice	874	697	502	261	191	40	66	30	2,660	
Registered specialist	61	61	37	23	16	2	—	—	200	
Restricted practice	—	9	1	2	5	—	—	4	20	
Administration	10	4	4	—	1	—	—	—	19	
Teaching/education	16	11	15	9	17	—	—	—	67	
Research	6	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	11	
Other	16	4	8	2	6	—	—	2	37	
Total	981	791	566	297	236	42	66	36	3,014	
	Persons		
General practice	3,071	2,023	1,715	888	645	154	185	67	8,747	
Registered specialist	362	308	223	121	95	16	31	4	1,161	
Restricted practice	—	26	21	21	17	2	2	4	93	
Administration	22	17	23	7	8	—	—	—	77	
Teaching/education	52	41	31	24	42	—	—	—	191	
Research	12	11	1	—	8	—	—	—	31	
Other	42	23	14	9	11	—	—	4	102	
Total	3,561	2,449	2,028	1,071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
	Average hours worked per week		
General practice	40.2	36.7	38.0	37.0	35.8	36.7	40.4	41.9	38.2	
Registered specialist	43.7	41.6	40.2	40.8	40.1	44.5	40.5	39.0	41.8	
Restricted practice	. .	28.6	34.4	37.4	26.1	40.0	46.0	39.0	32.6	
Administration	39.2	39.9	42.1	42.1	40.6	. .	. .	. .	40.6	
Teaching/education	35.5	32.0	39.6	25.8	36.5	. .	. .	. .	34.3	
Research	42.0	39.7	39.8	. .	32.3	. .	. .	. .	38.1	
Other	37.1	29.0	38.2	45.3	30.7	. .	. .	37.0	35.3	
Total	40.5	37.0	35.8	37.3	36.1	37.5	40.5	41.4	38.5	
	Average age (years)		
General practice	44.8	43.7	43.8	44.0	45.7	47.2	46.6	47.4	44.4	
Registered specialist	48.8	48.0	49.1	48.4	49.8	51.1	52.1	50.0	48.8	
Restricted practice	. .	46.2	56.1	51.9	46.6	53.0	52.0	52.0	50.3	
Administration	46.3	48.9	52.4	52.8	52.0	. .	. .	. .	50.0	
Teaching/education	49.3	47.3	48.4	47.9	46.2	. .	. .	. .	47.8	
Research	55.0	37.1	33.0	—	52.8	. .	. .	. .	46.5	
Other	51.2	49.5	35.3	42.2	42.4	. .	. .	45.0	46.6	
Total	45.4	44.4	44.7	44.8	46.3	47.6	47.5	47.6	45.1	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A1.12: Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and state/territory, 2006 
Sector/type of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Male		
Public										
Dental hospital	120	51	84	19	22	3	—	—	300	
Mainly school dental	1	8	24	21	14	—	—	2	69	
Mainly general dental	69	62	45	38	29	7	—	6	256	
Defence forces	19	12	14	3	1	—	—	4	53	
Other public	64	23	34	6	8	—	—	6	141	
Tertiary education institution	16	31	16	15	27	—	—	—	105	
Total	291	187	217	101	101	10	0	17	923	
Private										
Solo	981	486	429	263	168	46	55	13	2,442	
Solo with assistant	411	301	261	125	63	31	21	4	1,218	
Partnership	202	131	144	71	66	2	23	—	640	
Associateship	360	262	205	144	123	18	33	6	1,151	
Assistant	237	222	172	50	51	23	20	—	776	
Locum	37	24	30	13	2	—	—	—	106	
Health fund	25	20	1	1	13	—	—	—	60	
Total	2,253	1,447	1,243	667	487	121	152	23	6,393	
Other										
Other	36	24	3	6	2	—	0	4	74	
Total	2,580	1,658	1,462	774	590	130	152	43	7,390	
	Female		
Public										
Dental hospital	96	40	71	15	11	1	—	—	234	
Mainly school dental	1	13	22	7	7	—	—	10	60	
Mainly general dental	58	85	43	23	24	6	3	4	246	
Defence forces	15	3	9	3	3	—	3	6	41	
Other public	28	14	23	5	3	—	—	—	73	
Tertiary education institution	11	16	16	12	15	—	—	—	70	
Total	210	169	184	64	64	7	7	19	724	
Private										
Solo	176	108	75	42	31	4	13	2	450	
Solo with assistant	101	99	61	44	24	3	10	2	345	
Partnership	80	66	42	25	18	1	16	2	251	
Associateship	109	79	49	47	12	9	—	7	312	
Assistant	233	248	140	64	69	16	20	—	790	
Locum	10	12	9	9	1	—	—	—	41	
Health fund	34	5	1	2	14	—	—	—	57	
Total	744	616	378	232	170	34	59	13	2,246	
Other										
Other	27	6	4	—	3	—	—	4	44	
Total	981	791	566	297	236	42	66	36	3,014	
									(continued)	

Table A1.12 (continued): Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and state/territory, 2006 
Sector/type of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Persons		
Public										
Dental hospital	217	91	155	34	33	5	—	—	534	
Mainly school dental	2	21	46	28	21	—	—	11	130	
Mainly general dental	128	146	89	62	53	13	3	9	502	
Defence forces	34	14	23	6	4	—	3	9	94	
Other public	92	37	57	10	11	—	—	6	213	
Tertiary education institution	28	46	32	26	43	—	—	—	175	
Total	501	356	401	166	165	17	7	36	1,647	
Private										
Solo	1,157	594	504	305	199	51	68	15	2,892	
Solo with assistant	512	400	323	169	88	34	31	6	1,563	
Partnership	282	197	186	96	85	3	40	2	891	
Associateship	469	341	254	190	134	27	33	13	1,462	
Assistant	470	470	312	114	120	39	39	—	1,566	
Locum	47	35	39	21	4	—	—	—	147	
Health fund	59	25	3	4	27	—	—	—	118	
Total	2,998	2,063	1,621	899	657	155	212	36	8,639	
Other										
Other	63	30	7	6	5	—	—	7	118	
Total	3,561	2,449	2,028	1,071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates

Table A1.13: Practising dentists by age, sex and remoteness area, 2006
 	Remoteness area	 	
Age (years)	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Male		
<25	67	19	3	1	91	
25–29	444	72	33	3	552	
30–34	571	80	38	6	694	
35–39	624	82	27	5	738	
40–44	662	76	45	8	790	
45–49	956	172	64	1	1,192	
50–54	847	164	69	7	1,087	
55–59	759	153	53	10	975	
60–64	507	102	42	5	656	
65–69	269	51	20	3	342	
70–74	137	24	14	—	175	
75+	79	15	1	2	97	
Total	5,922	1,010	408	50	7,390	
	Female		
<25	59	25	3	4	91	
25–29	433	84	21	8	545	
30–34	493	49	25	5	572	
35–39	393	42	17	5	457	
40–44	376	50	20	6	453	
45–49	320	34	20	1	375	
50–54	263	27	16	6	312	
55–59	103	20	6	2	131	
60–64	43	5	1	—	50	
65–69	13	1	1	—	15	
70–74	6	—	1	—	7	
75+	6	—	—	—	6	
Total	2,506	339	132	37	3,014	
	Persons		
<25	126	45	6	5	181	
25–29	877	156	54	11	1,098	
30–34	1,064	130	63	11	1,267	
35–39	1,017	124	44	10	1,195	
40–44	1,038	126	65	14	1,243	
45–49	1,275	206	83	3	1,567	
50–54	1,110	191	85	13	1,399	
55–59	862	174	59	12	1,106	
60–64	551	108	43	5	707	
65–69	281	51	22	3	357	
70–74	143	24	15	—	182	
75+	85	15	1	2	103	
Total	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
	Average age (years)	 	
Male	47.4	48.7	48.2	48.0	47.6	
Female	39.1	37.3	39.9	37.0	38.9	
Persons	44.9	45.8	46.1	43.3	45.1	
Notes
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
2: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates

Table A1.14: Practising dentists by hours worked per week, sex and remoteness area, 2006
Hours worked per week	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Male		
<10	77	12	8	—	96	
10–19	230	37	11	1	280	
20–29	377	63	25	2	467	
30–39	1,671	306	127	17	2,121	
40–49	2,458	430	178	23	3,089	
50–59	742	117	40	3	902	
60+	367	46	20	3	436	
Total	5,922	1,010	408	50	7,390	
	Female		
<10	84	7	4	1	96	
10–19	273	32	10	—	315	
20–29	397	51	13	3	465	
30–39	812	112	60	13	997	
40–49	732	110	38	16	896	
50–59	144	16	2	1	163	
60+	64	11	5	3	82	
Total	2,506	339	132	37	3,014	
	Persons		
<10	160	19	11	1	192	
10–19	504	69	21	1	595	
20–29	775	114	38	6	932	
30–39	2,483	418	187	30	3,118	
40–49	3,191	539	216	38	3,984	
50–59	886	133	42	4	1,065	
60+	430	56	25	6	519	
Total	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	40.4	39.5	39.6	39.5	40.2	
Female	33.8	34.9	35.6	40.0	34.1	
Persons	38.4	38.3	38.6	39.7	38.5	
Notes
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
2: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates

Table A1.15: Practising dentists by age, sex, average hours worked and remoteness area, 2006
Age group (years)	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Male		
<30	39.6	38.1	41.4	39.4	39.5	
30–39	42.0	40.3	41.3	41.4	41.8	
40–49	43.4	43.4	40.8	43.1	43.2	
50–59	40.9	40.0	41.2	40.2	40.7	
60+	33.4	33.5	32.9	32.1	33.4	
Total	40.4	39.5	39.6	39.5	40.2	
	Female		
<30	37.2	39.6	41.6	46.8	38.0	
30–39	32.4	33.2	31.7	33.6	32.4	
40–49	33.3	31.8	33.4	37.7	33.2	
50–59	34.2	33.4	41.6	39.5	34.7	
60+	28.6	28.1	24.4	—	28.4	
Total	33.8	34.9	35.6	40.0	34.1	
	Persons		
<30	38.4	39.0	41.5	45.0	38.7	
30–39	37.9	37.8	37.4	37.7	37.9	
40–49	40.3	40.5	38.8	40.7	40.3	
50–59	39.6	39.2	41.3	40.0	39.7	
60+	33.1	33.3	32.6	32.1	33.1	
Total	38.4	38.3	38.6	39.7	38.5	
Note: Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.

Table A1.16: Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex, hours worked and remoteness area, 2006
Area of main practice	Remoteness area	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Male		
General practice	4,769	903	367	48	6,087	
Registered specialist	849	85	28	—	961	
Restricted practice	62	6	4	—	73	
Administration	51	5	3	—	59	
Teaching/education	118	5	2	—	124	
Research	19	1	—	—	20	
Other	54	5	5	2	65	
Total	5,922	1,010	408	50	7,390	
	Female		
General practice	2,177	326	126	31	2,660	
Registered specialist	189	10	1	—	200	
Restricted practice	16	—	—	4	20	
Administration	15	1	3	—	19	
Teaching/education	67	—	—	—	67	
Research	11	—	—	—	11	
Other	30	2	2	2	37	
Total	2,506	339	132	37	3,014	
	Persons		
General practice	6,946	1,229	492	80	8,747	
Registered specialist	1,038	94	29	—	1,161	
Restricted practice	79	6	4	4	93	
Administration	66	6	5	—	77	
Teaching/education	185	5	2	—	191	
Research	30	2	—	—	31	
Other	84	7	7	4	102	
Total	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
	Average hours worked per week		
General practice	38.1	38.3	38.6	39.9	38.2	
Registered specialist	42.0	40.7	37.2	. .	41.8	
Restricted practice	32.0	35.2	32.8	39.0	32.6	
Administration	40.8	39.0	39.5	. .	40.6	
Teaching/Education	34.3	19.6	60.0	. .	34.3	
Research	38.3	34.0	. .	. .	38.1	
Other	34.7	40.7	37.8	37.0	35.3	
Total	38.4	38.3	38.6	39.7	38.5	
Notes
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
2: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates

Table A1.17: Practising dentists by remoteness area, age, hours worked and sector, 2006
	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Number practising		
Male	5,922	1,010	408	50	7,390	
Female 	2,506	339	132	37	3,014	
Persons	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
	Percentage		
Percentage female 	29.7	25.1	24.4	42.5	29.0	
	Average age		
Male 	47.4	48.7	48.2	48.0	47.6	
Female 	39.1	37.3	39.9	37.0	38.9	
Persons	44.9	45.8	46.1	43.3	45.1	
	Average total hours worked per week		
Male 	40.4	39.5	39.6	39.5	40.2	
Female 	33.8	34.9	35.6	40.0	34.1	
Persons 	38.4	38.3	38.6	39.7	38.5	
	Average direct patient care hours worked per week		
Male 	34.7	34.6	34.9	35.7	34.7	
Female 	29.3	31.4	30.9	34.6	29.7	
Persons 	33.1	33.9	33.9	35.2	33.3	
	Sector of main practice		
Private	7,045	1,119	423	52	8,639	
Public	1,287	221	110	30	1,647	
Other	96	8	8	6	118	
 Note: Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.

Table A1.18: Number and practising rate of dentists by state/territory and remoteness areas, 2006
Remoteness area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
Major city	3,025	2,087	1,476	900	721	—	218	—	8,428	
Inner regional	454	299	314	80	51	151	—	—	1,349	
Outer regional	78	63	222	63	43	21	—	50	540	
Remote/Very remote	4	—	16	27	12	—	—	28	87	
Total	3,561	2,449	2,028	1,071	826	172	218	78	10,404	
	Rate per 100,000 population		
Major city	61.1	54.4	60.5	61.2	63.3	. .	65.4	. .	59.5	
Inner regional	32.7	28.8	35.1	31.4	26.9	47.5	. .	. .	33.1	
Outer regional	17.6	25.0	35.9	33.3	23.6	13.1	. .	43.6	27.5	
Remote/Very remote	11.7	. .	11.6	19.0	19.8	. .	. .	29.5	17.9	
Total	52.2	47.7	49.6	52.0	52.7	35.1	65.3	37.2	50.3	
Notes
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
2: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates

 Table A1.19: Practising dentists by state/statistical division, number, average hours worked, practising rate and full-time equivalent rate, 2006
					FTE dentists per 100,000 population	
State/statistical division	No.	Number of Dentists	Population	Dentists per 100,000 population	35 hour week 	37.5 hour week 	40 hour week	
NSW								
Sydney	05	2,745	4,284,379	64.1	74.4	69.4	65.1	
Hunter	10	204	617,453	33.0	38.3	35.7	33.5	
Illawarra	15	141	414,547	33.9	39.4	36.7	34.4	
Richmond-Tweed	20	104	229,939	45.2	48.0	44.8	42.0	
Mid-North Coast	25	97	297,006	32.5	37.5	35.0	32.8	
Northern	30	56	179,775	31.3	36.0	33.6	31.5	
North Western	35	31	115,754	26.5	32.5	30.3	28.4	
Central West	40	50	178,501	28.1	33.4	31.2	29.2	
South Eastern	45	56	207,161	27.1	27.6	25.7	24.1	
Murrumbidgee	50	41	154,150	26.6	32.9	30.8	28.8	
Murray	55	31	115,614	26.6	29.4	27.4	25.7	
Far West	60	7	22,903	28.6	31.2	29.1	27.3	
	Total		3,561	6,817,182	52.2	60.4	56.4	52.9	
Vic								
Melbourne	05	2,011	3,744,373	53.7	56.5	52.7	49.4	
Barwon	10	122	269,988	45.2	47.9	44.7	41.9	
Western District	15	21	102,386	20.4	23.3	21.8	20.4	
Central Highlands	20	61	147,542	41.3	41.0	38.2	35.9	
Wimmera	25	10	50,019	21.0	23.9	22.3	20.9	
Mallee	30	22	91,854	24.5	30.9	28.8	27.0	
Loddon	35	44	175,220	25.4	29.0	27.1	25.4	
Goulburn	40	44	202,098	22.0	23.9	22.3	20.9	
Ovens-Murray	45	25	96,406	26.2	27.4	25.6	24.0	
East Gippsland	50	34	82,952	41.5	46.7	43.5	40.8	
Gippsland	55	52	165,472	31.7	35.2	32.8	30.8	
	Total		2,449	5,128,310	47.7	50.5	47.2	44.2	
Qld								
Brisbane	05	1,090	1,820,400	59.9	65.1	60.8	57.0	
Gold Coast	07	254	518,059	49.0	54.4	50.8	47.6	
Sunshine Coast	09	173	295,125	58.6	60.4	56.4	52.9	
West Moreton	12	13	72,713	18.3	22.3	20.8	19.5	
Wide Bay-Burnett	15	71	269,340	26.4	28.6	26.7	25.0	
Darling Downs	20	92	227,074	40.7	45.5	42.4	39.8	
South West	25	4	26,408	14.9	21.5	20.1	18.8	
Fitzroy	30	75	200,604	37.6	45.0	42.0	39.4	
Central West	35	1	11,565	12.2	20.8	19.5	18.2	
Mackay	40	54	159,869	34.0	34.5	32.2	30.2	
Northern	45	90	209,588	42.9	47.3	44.1	41.4	
Far North	50	105	247,589	42.3	46.1	43.0	40.3	
North West	55	5	33,212	16.5	19.5	18.2	17.0	
	Total		2,028	4,091,546	49.6	54.2	50.6	47.4	
							(continued)	
Table A1.19 (continued): Practising dentists by state/statistical division, number, average hours worked, practising rate and full-time equivalent rate, 2006
					FTE dentists per 100,000 population	
State/statistical division	 No.	Number of Dentists	Population	Dentists per 100,000 population	35 hour week 	37.5 hour week 	40 hour week	
SA								
Adelaide	05	714	1,146,119	62.3	64.4	60.1	56.3	
Outer Adelaide	10	39	128,922	30.2	30.6	28.5	26.7	
Yorke and Lower North	15	9	45,589	20.3	19.5	18.2	17.0	
Murray Lands	20	17	69,479	24.5	22.4	20.9	19.6	
South-East	25	18	64,615	27.3	29.7	27.8	26.0	
Eyre	30	9	34,760	27.3	32.2	30.1	28.2	
Northern	35	20	78,720	25.2	24.3	22.7	21.3	
	Total		826	1,568,204	52.7	54.3	50.7	47.5	
WA								
Perth	05	900	1,519,510	59.2	63.1	58.9	55.3	
South West	10	85	217,791	39.2	40.3	37.6	35.3	
Lower Great Southern	15	26	55,448	47.2	50.9	47.5	44.5	
Upper Great Southern	20	10	18,792	54.1	49.6	46.3	43.4	
Midlands	25	3	53,234	6.2	8.4	7.8	7.3	
South Eastern	30	15	55,604	27.7	31.3	29.2	27.4	
Central	35	16	61,328	26.5	27.2	25.4	23.8	
Pilbara	40	6	44,333	12.8	15.0	14.0	13.1	
Kimberley	45	9	33,005	26.2	29.7	27.7	26.0	
	Total		1,071	2,059,045	52.0	55.4	51.7	48.4	
Tas								
Greater Hobart	05	95	205,566	46.1	48.9	45.6	42.8	
Southern	10	1	36,084	4.6	5.5	5.1	4.8	
Northern	15	47	138,702	33.6	37.2	34.7	32.5	
Mersey-Lyell	20	29	109,570	26.5	27.5	25.7	24.1	
	Total		172	489,922	35.1	37.6	35.1	32.9	
NT								
Darwin	05	50	116,487	43.2	50.1	46.8	43.9	
Northern Territory-Bal	10	28	94,187	29.8	36.3	33.9	31.8	
	Total NT		78	210,674	37.2	44.0	41.1	38.5	
ACT								
Canberra	05	218	334,225	65.3	75.5	70.5	66.1	
	Total ACT		218	334,225	65.3	75.5	70.5	66.1	
Australia(a)		10,404	20,699,108	50.3	55.2	51.5	48.3	
 (a) Excludes external territories.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

A2	Specialist tables
Table A2.1: Practising specialists by hours worked per week, sex and age group, 2006
Hours worked per week	Age group (years)	 	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Male		
<10	2	2	1	—	14	19	
10–19	1	12	3	6	33	55	
20–29	4	5	9	27	29	73	
30–39	1	45	60	90	64	260	
40–49	12	56	144	128	46	386	
50–59	—	32	68	64	21	186	
60+	1	17	48	30	19	116	
Total	22	168	333	345	227	1,095	
	Female		
<10	—	1	—	1	—	2	
10–19	1	10	11	5	—	26	
20–29	3	11	12	8	2	36	
30–39	3	17	26	17	1	65	
40–49	6	26	16	13	—	61	
50–59	1	13	8	4	—	26	
60+	—	4	6	5	2	16	
Total	15	81	79	53	4	233	
	Persons		
<10	2	4	1	1	14	21	
10–19	2	21	14	10	33	82	
20–29	7	16	21	34	31	109	
30–39	4	61	87	107	65	325	
40–49	19	82	160	141	46	448	
50–59	1	44	76	68	21	212	
60+	1	20	54	35	21	132	
Total	37	249	413	398	232	1,328	
	Average hours worked per week		
Male	36.1	42.0	46.0	42.7	35.1	41.9	
Female	34.3	37.3	36.6	38.2	35.0	37.1	
Persons	35.3	40.4	44.2	42.1	35.1	41.1	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A2.2: Practising specialists by sector, age and hours worked, 2006
 	Public	Private	Public and private	Total	
Number employed	
Persons	160	931	237	1,328	
Percentage	
% Female	32.3	13.9	21.9	17.5	
Average age (years)	
Male	51.7	50.6	50.0	50.6	
Female	42.5	43.1	41.3	42.5	
Persons	48.7	49.5	48.0	49.2	
Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	39.0	42.1	42.6	41.9	
Female	35.9	37.1	38.2	37.1	
Persons	38.0	41.5	41.6	41.1	
Average direct patient care hours worked per week	
Male	24.0	35.0	33.7	33.8	
Female	28.6	30.3	28.3	29.4	
Persons	25.7	34.3	32.5	33.0	
Percentage part-time	
Male	30.0	21.9	23.5	23.0	
Female	36.9	40.0	32.1	37.5	
Persons	32.2	24.4	25.4	25.5	
Note: Sector of practice was determined by type of work performed at main, second and third practice locations.

Table A2.3: Practising specialists by speciality, sex and state/territory, 2006
 	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	
	Male		
Orthodontics	147	94	91	40	49	10	4	16	450	
Periodontics	28	27	24	8	14	3	—	6	111	
Prosthodontics	46	46	33	14	18	—	—	—	157	
Oral and maxillofacial surgery	58	49	28	16	22	2	—	10	185	
Endodontics	25	29	19	12	12	2	2	3	102	
Paediatric dentistry	9	9	10	7	6	—	—	2	43	
Other(a)	10	12	10	8	6	2	—	—	46	
All specialists	323	265	215	105	126	18	6	37	1,095	
General dental practitioners only	2,257	1,393	1,247	486	648	112	37	115	6,295	
Total	2,580	1,658	1,462	590	774	130	43	152	7,390	
	Female		
Orthodontics	17	19	18	7	7	1	—	—	69	
Periodontics	6	10	9	2	9	—	—	—	36	
Prosthodontics	9	1	1	1	—	—	—	—	14	
Oral and maxillofacial surgery	5	4	7	1	3	—	—	—	21	
Endodontics	6	2	2	1	4	—	—	—	15	
Paediatric dentistry	19	20	5	8	2	—	4	—	58	
Other(a)	6	10	1	4	—	—	—	—	21	
All specialists	68	66	45	25	25	1	4	—	233	
General dental practitioners only	914	725	522	211	272	40	32	66	2,781	
Total	981	791	566	236	297	42	36	66	3,014	
	Persons		
Orthodontics	163	113	109	47	56	11	4	16	520	
Periodontics	34	37	34	11	22	3	—	6	147	
Prosthodontics	56	48	35	15	18	—	—	—	171	
Oral and maxillofacial surgery	64	53	35	17	24	2	—	10	206	
Endodontics	30	30	21	13	16	2	2	3	117	
Paediatric dentistry	28	29	15	15	8	—	4	2	100	
Other(a)	16	22	11	12	6	2	—	—	67	
All specialists	390	331	260	129	151	20	10	37	1,328	
General dental practitioners only	3,171	2,118	1,769	697	920	152	69	181	9,076	
Total	3,561	2,449	2,028	826	1,071	172	78	218	10,404	
(a) Other includes oral pathology, dento-maxillofacial radiology, public health dentistry, special needs dentistry and oral medicine.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A2.4: Practising specialists by speciality, sex and remoteness area, 2006
 	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
Orthodontics	436	61	22	—	520	
Periodontics	131	10	6	—	147	
Prosthodontics	165	4	1	—	171	
Oral and maxillofacial surgery	186	16	3	—	206	
Endodontics	110	5	2	—	117	
Paediatric dentistry	91	4	1	4	100	
Other(a)	61	4	2	—	67	
All specialists	1,182	105	36	4	1328	
General dental practitioners only	7,245	1,243	504	83	9,076	
Total	8,428	1,349	540	87	10,404	
(a) Other includes oral pathology, dento-maxillofacial radiology, public health dentistry, special needs dentistry and oral medicine.
Notes
1. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
2: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates

Table A2.5: Practising specialists by speciality and selected characteristics, 2006
	Orthodontics	Periodontics	Prosthodontics	Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery	Endodontics	Paedodontics	Other	All Specialists	
Average age	
Male	50.7	50.0	51.5	51.5	46.8	47.5	54.0	50.6	
Female	41.6	41.5	44.3	46.4	42.9	43.5	39.1	42.5	
Persons	49.5	47.9	51.0	51.0	46.3	45.2	49.5	49.2	
Average total hours usually worked per week	
Male	40.3	42.7	42.5	45.4	42.9	44.7	35.7	41.9	
Female	37.6	32.1	37.0	42.3	37.3	37.8	36.1	37.1	
Persons	39.9	40.3	42.1	45.1	42.1	40.8	35.8	41.1	
Average direct patient care hours worked per week	
Male	33.2	34.4	31.9	37.9	33.4	33.3	28.3	33.8	
Female	31.1	26.0	27.7	34.5	25.1	30.2	26.0	29.4	
Persons	32.9	32.5	31.6	37.5	32.2	31.5	27.5	33.0	
Sector of practice (percentage of specialists)	
Public	6.3	6.8	17.1	8.7	8.5	37.0	33.8	12.1	
Private	82.7	78.2	64.7	67.0	72.6	31.0	32.4	70.1	
Public and private	11.0	15.0	18.2	24.3	18.8	32.0	33.8	17.9	

A3	Dental hygienist tables
Table A3.1: Registered dental hygienists by work status and state/territory, 2006
Work status	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT(d)	Australia	
	Persons	
Working as hygienist(a)	149	120	74	135	154	5	38	n.a.	674	
Mainly or only in other state	7	2	2	4	8	—	3	n.a.	26	
On extended leave/overseas	7	15	3	15	13	2	—	n.a.	54	
Not in paid work	2	7	—	6	3	—	—	n.a.	18	
Working but not as an allied practitioner 	2	3	—	3	4	—	—	n.a.	12	
Total	167	147	78	163	181	7	41	12	796	
Employed in state/territory(a) (%)	89.3	81.4	94.2	82.9	85.0	71.4	92.3	—	84.7	
Proportion female (%) 	95.3	98.4	96.2	96.4	98.6	100.0	92.3	—	96.8	
Practising rate(b)	2.2	2.3	1.8	6.6	9.8	1.0	11.3	—	3.3	
Registered hygienists rate	2.4	2.9	1.9	7.9	11.5	1.4	12.3	5.7	3.8	
FTE rate (35 hours per week)(c)	1.8	2.0	1.5	5.7	7.0	0.9	10.3	—	2.7	
FTE rate (37.5 hours per week)(c)	1.7	1.9	1.4	5.3	6.5	0.8	9.6	—	2.5	
FTE rate (40 hours per week)(c)	1.6	1.7	1.3	5.0	6.1	0.8	9.0	—	2.3	
(a) Practising solely or mainly in state/territory of registration.
(b) Practising rate is the number of practising hygienists per 100,000 population.
(c) Full-time equivalent hygienists per 100,000 population. Calculated by multiplying the number of practising hygienists by the average weekly hours worked and then dividing by a reference week (35, 37.5 and 40 hours per week have been provided). This value is then population standardised to allow comparisons with other states/territories.
(d) In 2006 there was no survey in the Northern Territory. But 12 hygienists were registered in the NT and were included in the totals. 
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A3.2: Practising dental hygienists by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Age group (years)	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
	Persons	
<25	6	7	—	23	6	—	3	46	
25–29	17	23	6	40	10	—	3	99	
30–34	28	25	17	23	23	1	6	124	
35–39	30	16	15	15	34	2	9	121	
40–44	25	24	18	15	28	2	9	121	
45–49	25	15	12	13	23	—	3	91	
50–54	12	2	3	6	21	—	3	47	
55–59	7	7	2	—	6	—	—	22	
60+	—	1	2	—	1	—	—	4	
Total	149	120	74	135	154	5	38	674	
	Average age (years)	
Male	42.0	28.5	31.5	37.3	27.5	—	39.0	35.9	
Female	39.0	37.3	40.0	32.3	40.6	39.0	38.1	37.8	
Persons	39.1	37.1	39.7	32.6	40.4	39.0	38.2	37.7	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A3.3: Practising dental hygienists by age group, average age and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
	Remoteness area of main practice		
Age (years)	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
<25	42	1	1	—	44	
25–29	87	7	4	—	99	
30–34	104	13	5	1	124	
35–39	103	13	5	—	121	
40–44	109	9	3	—	121	
45–49	79	10	4	—	92	
50–54	43	5	—	—	47	
55–59	19	1	2	—	22	
60+	4	—	—	—	4	
Total	589	60	24	1	674	
	Average age (years)	
Male	35.9	—	—	—	35.9	
Female	37.8	38.0	37.3	31.0	37.8	
Persons	37.7	38.0	37.3	31.0	37.7	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Table A3.4: Practising dental hygienists by hours worked per week in all locations and state/ territories, 2006
Hours worked per week	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
	Persons	
<10	10	6	6	6	16	—	—	43	
10–19	20	24	9	21	36	1	—	111	
20–29	36	22	14	26	44	1	16	158	
30–39	55	49	39	59	50	3	19	274	
40–49	26	15	5	21	8	—	—	73	
50–59	1	3	—	1	—	—	3	9	
60+	1	1	2	1	—	—	—	5	
Total	149	120	74	135	154	5	38	674	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	24.6	38.0	35.0	31.0	38.8	—	20.0	30.0	
Female	29.8	29.7	29.0	30.3	24.6	29.7	32.8	28.8	
Persons	29.6	29.8	29.3	30.3	24.9	29.7	31.7	28.8	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A3.5: Practising dental hygienists by hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Hours worked per week	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons		
<10	37	5	1	—	43	
10–19	98	9	3	—	111	
20–29	134	15	9	—	158	
30–39	239	23	11	1	274	
40–49	71	3	—	—	73	
50–59	7	2	—	—	9	
60+	3	3	—	—	5	
Total	589	60	24	1	674	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	30.0	—	—	—	30.0	
Female	28.8	29.6	26.7	32.0	28.8	
Persons	28.8	29.6	26.7	32.0	28.8	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Table A3.6: Practising dental hygienists by hours worked per week and age group, 2006
Hours worked per week	Age group (years)	 	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Persons		
<10	4	24	6	7	2	43	
10–19	6	42	45	16	1	111	
20–29	14	59	66	18	1	158	
30–39	91	88	79	17	—	274	
40–49	28	22	13	9	—	73	
50–59	—	7	1	1	—	9	
60+	—	3	3	—	—	5	
Total	143	245	214	69	4	674	
	Average hours worked per week		
Male	39.0	28.5	29.0	9.0	—	30.0	
Female	33.8	27.4	28.0	26.1	15.5	28.8	
Persons	34.0	27.4	28.0	25.8	15.5	28.8	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A3.7: Practising dental hygienists by sector/ type of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
	Persons		
Public									
School dental service	3	—	—	—	1	—	—	5	
Community dental clinic	2	—	2	4	—	—	3	11	
Dental hospital	—	—	2	3	3	—	—	6	
Teaching institution	3	—	—	3	8	—	—	14	
Other	4	—	3	4	3	—	—	13	
	Total	13	—	6	13	13	—	3	49	
Private									
General practice	103	97	56	97	122	4	16	494	
Specialist practice (orthodontic)	19	9	6	19	13	1	6	73	
Specialist practice (periodontics)	6	13	6	4	6	—	9	44	
Other	8	1	—	1	—	—	3	14	
	Total	136	120	68	122	141	5	35	625	
Total	149	120	74	135	154	5	38	674	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A3.8: Practising dental hygienists by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Remoteness area of main practice	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
Public						
School dental service	4	1	—	—	5	
Community dental clinic	10	—	2	—	11	
Dental hospital	6	—	—	—	6	
Teaching institution	14	—	—	—	14	
Other	12	1	—	—	13	
	Total	45	2	2	—	49	
Private						
General practice	419	51	22	1	494	
Specialist practice (orthodontic)	69	4	—	—	73	
Specialist practice (periodontics)	42	2	—	—	44	
Other	14	—	—	—	14	
	Total	544	58	22	1	625	
Total	589	60	24	1	674	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.

Table A3.9: Practising dental hygienists and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Remoteness area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
Major city	122	105	57	126	141	—	38	589	
Inner regional	20	14	9	4	8	5	—	60	
Outer regional	7	1	8	4	4	—	—	24	
Remote/Very remote	—	—	—	—	1 	—	—	1	
Total	149	120	74	135	154	5	38	674	
	Rate per 100,000 population	
Major city	2.5	2.7	2.3	8.6	12.4	. .	11.3	4.1	
Inner regional	1.5	1.3	1.0	1.7	4.1	1.6	—	1.5	
Outer regional	1.5	—	1.2	2.3	2.1	—	. .	1.2	
Remote/Very remote	. .	—	—	—	—	—	. .	—	
Total	2.2	2.3	1.8	6.6	9.8	1.0	11.3	3.3	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
A4	Dental therapist tables
Table A4.1: Registered dental therapists by work status and state/territory, 2006
Work status	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Persons	
Working as hygienist(a)	225	196	245	286	121	56	19	23	1,171	
Mainly or only in other state	3	4	1	4	3	1	—	—	16	
On extended leave/overseas	3	7	5	22	9	2	—	2	49	
Not in paid work	14	7	3	19	1	1	—	—	45	
Working but not as an allied practitioner 	32	24	1	33	9	—	1	—	100	
Total	278	237	255	363	142	60	20	25	1,380	
Employed in state/territory(a) (%)	81.1	82.7	96.0	78.7	85.0	93.1	94.7	92.3	84.8	
Proportion female (%) 	99.6	97.8	99.0	99.3	98.2	94.8	100.0	100.0	98.8	
Practising rate(b)	3.3	3.8	6.0	13.9	7.7	11.4	5.7	11.0	5.7	
Registered therapists rate	4.1	4.6	6.2	17.6	9.1	12.2	6.0	11.9	6.7	
FTE rate (35 hours per week)(c)	2.8	2.9	4.9	10.6	5.9	9.6	4.8	10.0	4.5	
FTE rate (37.5 hours per week)(c)	2.6	2.7	4.6	9.9	5.5	8.9	4.5	9.3	4.2	
FTE rate (40 hours per week)(c)	2.5	2.5	4.3	9.3	5.2	8.4	4.2	8.7	4.0	
(a) Practising solely or mainly in state/territory of registration.
(b) Practising rate is the number of practising therapists per 100,000 population.
(c) Full-time equivalent therapists per 100,000 population. Calculated by multiplying the number of practising therapists by the average weekly hours worked and then dividing by a reference week (35, 37.5 and 40 hours per week have been provided). This value is then population standardised to allow comparisons with other states/territories.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A4.2: Practising dental therapists by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Age group
(years)	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Persons		
<25	3	15	—	14	4	—	—	2	37	
25–29	11	19	4	3	6	3	—	2	47	
30–34	23	19	27	14	6	5	—	2	96	
35–39	20	38	38	47	16	6	1	2	169	
40–44	46	32	68	46	14	8	7	2	222	
45–49	79	46	91	105	33	23	6	10	392	
50–54	37	20	17	46	31	4	4	4	163	
55–59	5	5	—	13	10	5	—	—	39	
60+	1	3	1	—	—	1	—	—	6	
Total	225	196	245	286	121	56	19	23	1,171	
	Average age (years)		
Male	30.0	37.3	38.5	33.0	41.0	45.3	—	—	38.6	
Female	43.3	40.3	42.7	43.7	44.6	44.4	44.9	41.8	43.0	
Persons	43.3	40.2	42.7	43.6	44.6	44.5	44.9	41.8	42.9	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A4.3: Practising dental therapists by age group, average age and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
 	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
Age (years)	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
<25	18	11	6	2	37	
25–29	26	11	7	3	47	
30–34	63	21	9	3	96	
35–39	96	44	27	3	169	
40–44	142	50	27	3	222	
45–49	246	97	47	3	392	
50–54	104	36	17	6	163	
55–59	30	2	6	—	39	
60+	4	1	1	—	6	
Total	728	274	147	21	1171	
	Average age (years)	
Males	37.5	38.0	50.0	—	38.6	
Females	43.4	42.4	42.3	39.9	43.0	
Persons	43.3	42.3	42.3	39.9	42.9	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Table A4.4: Practising dental therapists by sex, hours worked per week in all locations and state/territory, 2006
Hours worked per week	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Persons		
<10	5	17	11	24	6	1	1	2	68	
10–19	32	52	59	54	31	6	1	2	237	
20–29	65	44	48	71	20	22	6	2	278	
30–39	72	50	71	128	59	23	11	13	428	
40–49	47	28	47	6	1	3	—	4	137	
50–59	—	1	1	—	1	—	—	—	4	
60+	4	4	6	3	1	1	—	—	20	
Total	225	196	245	286	121	56	19	23	1171	
	Average hours worked per week	 	
Male	38.0	39.5	21.0	45.0	15.0	37.8	—	—	33.0	
Female	29.8	26.5	28.8	26.6	27.1	28.8	29.8	31.9	27.9	
Persons	29.8	26.7	28.8	26.7	26.9	29.4	29.8	31.9	28.0	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A4.5: Practising dental therapists by sex, hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Hours worked per week	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
<10	48	9	9	3	68	
10–19	148	64	23	3	237	
20–29	174	67	36	1	278	
30–39	259	101	56	12	428	
40–49	82	30	21	3	137	
50–59	1	1	1	—	4	
60+	15	4	1	—	20	
Total	728	274	147	21	1,171	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	35.4	29.1	35.4	—	33.0	
Female	27.8	27.7	29.1	28.1	27.9	
Persons	27.9	27.7	29.1	28.1	28.0	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Table A4.6: Practising dental therapists by sex, hours worked per week and age, 2006
Hours worked per week	Age group (years)	 	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Persons		
<10	1	33	20	14	—	68	
10–19	10	88	109	29	—	237	
20–29	2	63	169	42	1	278	
30–39	47	46	238	92	5	428	
40–49	23	28	65	21	—	137	
50–59	—	—	3	1	—	4	
60+	1	6	10	3	—	20	
Total	85	264	614	201	6	1,171	
	Average hours worked per week		
Male	—	39.3	27.2	35.4	—	33.0	
Female	35.1	22.7	28.8	29.1	33.3	27.9	
Persons	35.1	23.0	28.8	29.1	33.3	28.0	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A4.7: Dental therapists by sex, sector/type of main practice and state/territory 2006
Sector/type of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
	Persons		
Public										
School dental service	68	75	231	158	107	40	8	19	707	
Community dental clinic	102	60	1	1	1	13	9	2	190	
Dental hospital	21	4	—	—	1	—	—	—	26	
Teaching institution	7	5	—	3	4	—	—	—	18	
Other	13	—	1	3	1	—	—	—	18	
	Total	210	144	233	164	114	54	18	21	959	
Private										
General practice	3	25	6	85	3	2	2	2	127	
Specialist practice (orthodontic)	11	24	5	29	1	—	—	—	70	
Specialist practice (periodontics)	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	1	
Other	1	1	—	6	3	—	—	—	11	
	Total	15	50	11	121	6	2	2	1	210	
Total	225	196	245	286	121	56	19	23	1,171	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A4.8: Practising dental therapists by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Remoteness area of main practice	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
Public						
School dental service	401	176	111	18	707	
Community dental clinic	107	63	17	3	190	
Dental hospital	23	2	1	—	26	
Teaching institution	17	1	—	—	18	
Other	14	4	—	—	18	
	Total	561	248	129	21	959	
Private						
General practice	91	21	16	—	127	
Specialist practice (orthodontic)	63	5	3	—	70	
Specialist practice (periodontics)	1	—	—	—	1	
Other	11	1	—	—	11	
	Total	166	27	18	—	210	
Total	728	274	147	21	1,171	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.

Table A4.9: Practising dental therapists and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Remoteness area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Australia	
Major city	138	136	140	216	78	—	19	—	728	
Inner regional	69	49	70	38	15	33	—	—	274	
Outer regional	18	11	29	28	24	23	—	15	147	
Remote/Very remote	1	—	5	4	4	—	—	8	21	
Total	225	196	245	286	121	56	19	23	1,171	
	Rate per 100,000 population		
Major city	2.8	3.6	5.7	14.7	6.8	. .	5.7	. .	5.1	
Inner regional	5.0	4.7	7.8	14.8	8.0	10.4	. .	. .	6.7	
Outer regional	3.9	4.2	4.8	14.6	13.2	14.0	. .	13.3	7.5	
Remote/Very remote	—	. .	3.6	2.7	6.4	. .	. .	8.1	4.4	
Total	3.3	3.8	6.0	13.9	7.7	11.4	5.7	11.0	5.7	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
A5	Oral health therapist tables
Table A5.1: Registered OHTs by work status and state/territory, 2006
Work status	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Australia	
	Persons	
Working as an OHT	39	41	228	38	26	371	
Mainly or only in other state	4	1	3	5	—	12	
On extended leave/overseas	1	2	9	—	—	12	
Not in paid work	2	2	3	2	—	8	
Working but not as an allied practitioner 	—	1	4	2	—	6	
Total	46	47	246	45	26	410	
Employed in state/territory(a) (%)	84.4	86.4	92.7	83.3	100.0	90.5	
Proportion female (%) 	97.8	95.5	93.8	96.7	91.7	94.6	
Practising rate(b)	0.6	0.8	5.6	1.8	1.7	1.8	
Registered therapists rate	0.7	0.9	6.0	2.2	1.7	2.0	
FTE rate (35 hours per week)(c)	0.5	0.8	5.5	1.3	1.6	1.7	
FTE rate (37.5 hours per week)(c)	0.5	0.7	5.1	1.2	1.5	1.6	
FTE rate (40 hours per week)(c)	0.5	0.7	4.8	1.2	1.4	1.5	
(a) Practising solely or mainly in state/territory of registration.
(b) Practising rate is the number of practising OHTs per 100,000 population.
(c) Full-time equivalent OHTs per 100,000 population. Calculated by multiplying the number of practising OHTs by the average weekly hours worked and then dividing by a reference week (35, 37.5 and 40 hours per week have been provided). This value is then population standardised to allow comparisons with other states/territories.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A5.2: Practising OHTs by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Age group
(years)	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Australia	
	Persons	
<25	6	7	19	—	10	42	
25–29	7	13	36	5	7	67	
30–34	3	4	41	9	3	60	
35–39	1	9	28	8	2	47	
40–44	6	1	47	1	2	58	
45–49	11	3	43	9	2	69	
50–54	2	3	11	5	—	21	
55+	2	—	3	1	—	6	
Total	39	41	228	38	26	371	
	Average age (years)	
Male	27.0	41.5	32.5	—	31.0	33.0	
Female	36.8	32.3	37.5	39.9	29.8	36.6	
Persons	36.5	32.8	37.2	39.9	29.9	36.4	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A5.3: Practising OHTs by age group and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
Age (years)	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
<25	35	5	2	—	42	
25–29	49	10	7	2	67	
30–34	51	6	4	—	60	
35–39	37	6	4	—	47	
40–44	34	10	14	—	58	
45–49	55	13	1	—	69	
50–54	13	4	4	1	21	
55+	4	2	—	—	6	
Total	277	56	35	3	371	
	Average age (years)	
Male	33.2	32.0	—	—	33.0	
Female	36.1	38.4	37.2	40.5	36.6	
Persons	35.9	38.1	37.2	40.5	36.4	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Table A5.4: OHTs by sex, hours worked per week in all locations and state/territory, 2006
Hours worked per week	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Australia	
	Persons	
<10	—	1	8	8	—	16	
10–19	3	4	13	9	—	29	
20–29	15	—	38	3	7	63	
30–39	12	19	87	14	16	148	
40–49	5	13	71	3	3	96	
50–59	1	2	8	—	—	11	
60+	2	1	4	2	—	8	
Total	39	41	228	38	26	371	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	50.0	38.0	40.1	—	29.0	39.1	
Female	32.5	35.3	34.2	25.3	34.6	33.2	
Persons	32.9	35.4	34.5	25.3	34.0	33.4	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A5.5: Practising OHTs by sex, hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Hours worked per week	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
<10	11	4	1	—	16	
10–19	27	1	1	—	29	
20–29	48	12	3	—	63	
30–39	103	27	16	2	148	
40–49	70	11	13	1	96	
50–59	10	—	1	—	11	
60+	8	—	—	—	8	
Total	277	56	35	3	371	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	39.9	35.0	—	—	39.1	
Female	32.9	32.5	35.4	39.2	33.2	
Persons	33.3	32.6	35.4	39.2	33.4	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.
Table A5.6: Practising OHTs by sex, hours worked per week and age, 2006
Hours worked per week	Age group (years)	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50+	Total	
	Persons	
<10	1	11	4	—	16	
10–19	3	12	12	2	29	
20–29	7	18	35	3	63	
30–39	51	36	49	12	148	
40–49	37	25	25	8	96	
50–59	6	4	—	1	11	
60+	3	3	1	2	8	
Total	108	108	127	28	371	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	39.6	40.6	36.6	—	39.1	
Female	37.9	30.0	30.9	37.4	33.2	
Persons	38.0	30.7	31.1	37.4	33.4	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A5.7: Practising OHTs by sector/type of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Australia	
	Persons	
Public							
School dental service	4	2	111	6	4	127	
Community dental clinic	—	1	3	—	—	4	
Dental hospital	—	—	5	—	—	5	
Teaching institution	—	3	—	2	—	5	
Other	—	—	—	—	—	—	
	Total	4	6	119	8	4	141	
Private							
General practice	26	28	92	18	21	184	
Specialist practice (orthodontic)	8	2	11	12	1	35	
Specialist practice (periodontics)	—	4	5	—	—	9	
Other	1	—	1	—	—	2	
	Total	35	34	110	30	22	230	
Total	39	41	228	38	26	371	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A5.8: Practising OHTs by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Remoteness area of main practice	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
Public						
School dental service	68	38	19	3	127	
Community dental clinic	2	1	—	—	4	
Dental hospital	5	—	—	—	5	
Teaching institution	4	—	1	—	5	
Other	—	—	—	—	—	
Total	79	39	20	3	141	
Private						
General practice	158	14	11	—	184	
Specialist practice (orthodontic)	30	3	3	—	35	
Specialist practice (periodontics)	8	—	1	—	9	
Other	2	—	—	—	2	
Total	199	16	15	—	230	
Total	277	56	35	3	371	
Notes
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008); Remote/Very remote includes Migratory areas.

Table A5.9: Practising OHTs and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Remoteness area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Australia	
Major city	32	37	156	30	23	277	
Inner regional	6	2	41	5	2	56	
Outer regional	1	1	31	2	1	35	
Remote/Very remote	—	—	1	2	—	3	
Total	39	41	228	38	26	371	
	Rate per 100,000 population	
Major city	0.6	1.0	6.4	2.0	2.0	2.0	
Inner regional	0.4	. .	4.6	1.8	. .	1.4	
Outer regional	. .	. .	5.0	. .	. .	1.8	
Remote/Very remote	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .	0.6	
Total	0.6	0.8	5.6	1.8	1.7	1.8	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
A6	Dental prosthetist tables
Table A6.1: Registered prosthetists by work status and state/territory, 2006
Work status	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
Only/mainly in this state(a)	343	258	145	86	31	44	14	921	
Mainly in another state	5	3	—	—	3	—	—	11	
Only in another state	18	6	6	—	—	—	—	29	
On leave	2	3	—	—	—	—	—	5	
Overseas	—	—	3	—	—	—	—	3	
Not in paid work	7	1	3	6	—	1	—	19	
Working in dentistry but not as a dental prosthetist	37	4	—	6	2	1	—	51	
Working but in another industry/profession	5	1	—	10	—	—	—	16	
Retired	21	3	—	—	2	—	—	26	
Total	439	280	156	108	37	46	14	1,080	
Employed in state/territory(a) (%)	78.1	92.3	92.7	79.4	83.3	95.7	100.0	85.2	
Proportion female (%) 	1.0	1.7	2.0	3.7	—	2.3	37.5	2.2	
Practising rate(b)	5.0	5.0	3.5	4.2	2.0	9.0	4.2	4.4	
Registered prosthetists rate	6.4	5.5	3.8	5.2	2.4	9.4	4.2	5.2	
FTE rate (35 hours per week)(c)	6.2	6.5	4.4	4.5	2.2	10.6	5.6	5.5	
FTE rate (37.5 hours per week)(c)	5.8	6.1	4.1	4.2	2.1	9.9	5.2	5.1	
FTE rate (40 hours per week)(c)	5.4	5.7	3.8	3.9	1.9	9.3	4.9	4.8	
(a) Practising solely or mainly in state/territory of registration.
(b) Practising rate is the number of practising prosthetists per 100,000 population.
(c) Full-time equivalent prosthetists per 100,000 population. Calculated by multiplying the number of practising prosthetists by the average weekly hours worked and then dividing by a reference week (35, 37.5 and 40 hours per week have been provided). This value is then population standardised to allow comparisons with other states/territories.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A6.2: Practising dental prosthetists by type of practice (clinical versus laboratory) and selected characteristics
	Mainly clinical 	Mainly laboratory	Mix(a)	
Male 	106	273	449	
Female 	17	34	42	
Persons	124	306	491	
	Percentage	
Male 	12.8	32.9	54.3	
Female 	18.3	36.5	45.1	
Persons	13.4	33.3	53.3	
	Average age	
Male 	51.6	48.7	50.1	
Female 	41.2	42.8	42.9	
Persons	50.1	48.1	49.5	
(a) Prosthetists classified as practising in both clinical and laboratory settings.
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A6.3: Practising prosthetists by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Age group (years)	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	 Tas	ACT	Australia	
	Persons	
<30	7	3	—	—	2	—	—	12	
30–34	11	16	—	6	—	1	—	34	
35–39	37	25	4	3	2	6	—	77	
40–44	60	42	17	6	3	8	—	137	
45–49	89	59	34	22	8	9	5	227	
50–54	41	53	30	19	8	6	4	161	
55–59	46	32	24	10	6	8	2	128	
60–64	18	10	19	3	2	4	2	57	
65–69	16	12	9	6	—	2	—	44	
70–74	4	4	1	3	—	—	—	12	
75+	14	3	6	6	2	—	2	32	
Total	343	258	145	86	31	44	14	921	
	Average age (years)	
Male	49.6	49.3	53.4	55.1	51.6	49.3	56.0	50.8	
Female	46.2	39.4	52.7	35.7	36.0	46.8	—	44.2	
Persons	49.2	48.4	53.3	53.0	50.8	48.8	56.0	50.1	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A6.4: Practising prosthetists by age group and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
Age group (years)	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons		
<30	5	6	—	—	12	
30–34	19	12	3	—	34	
35–39	48	21	6	1	77	
40–44	100	30	6	—	137	
45–49	158	57	12	—	227	
50–54	110	36	15	—	161	
55–59	76	44	7	—	128	
60–64	37	15	3	1	57	
65–69	30	12	1	1	44	
70–74	11	1	—	—	12	
75+	27	5	—	—	32	
Total	622	240	54	4	921	
	Average age (years)		
Male	51.0	50.3	50.2	55.0	50.8	
Female	45.7	42.5	34.1	—	44.2	
Persons	50.4	49.5	48.7	55.0	50.1	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
Table A6.5: Prosthetists by hours worked per week in all locations and state/territory, 2006
Hours worked per week	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
	Persons	
<10	5	10	—	6	2	2	—	25	
10–19	23	6	6	3	—	1	—	39	
20–29	16	23	7	19	5	4	—	74	
30–39	57	32	23	16	3	9	4	143	
40–49	128	105	62	22	15	19	4	355	
50–59	66	49	29	13	3	6	5	170	
60+	48	33	19	6	3	3	2	114	
Total	343	258	145	86	31	44	14	921	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	43.8	45.6	44.0	38.6	39.3	44.2	46.4	43.8	
Female	36.9	40.2	39.2	30.9	42.0	29.4	—	36.8	
Persons	43.1	45.1	43.5	37.7	39.5	41.3	46.4	43.0	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A6.6: Practising prosthetists by sex, hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Hours worked per week	Remoteness area of main practice	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
<10	22	2	—	—	25	
10–19	26	11	—	—	39	
20–29	50	19	5	—	74	
30–39	101	38	3	—	143	
40–49	240	89	23	3	355	
50–59	109	44	16	1	170	
60+	74	35	5	—	114	
Total	622	240	54	4	921	
 	 	 	 	 	 	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	43.5	43.9	46.3	47.5	43.8	
Female	36.6	36.8	39.4	—	36.8	
Persons	42.7	43.2	45.6	47.5	43.0	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
Table A6.7: Practising prosthetists by sex, hours worked per week and age, 2006
Hours worked per week	Age group (years)	 	
	<30	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+	Total	
	Persons	
<10	—	1	9	6	9	25	
10–19	—	5	17	6	11	39	
20–29	3	11	23	24	12	74	
30–39	—	8	48	51	36	143	
40–49	5	50	134	118	47	355	
50–59	3	16	79	56	16	170	
60+	—	20	53	28	14	114	
Total	12	111	363	288	146	921	
	Average hours worked per week	
Male	42.6	46.1	46.3	43.5	36.5	43.8	
Female	—	39.5	35.4	38.0	34.1	36.8	
Persons	42.6	44.7	44.8	43.2	36.4	43.0	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.

Table A6.8: Practising prosthetists by sector/type of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
	Persons		
Public									
Government clinic/laboratory	20	13	20	3	—	7	2	65	
Defence forces	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	
Public education institution	9	4	2	—	—	—	—	15	
Total	28	17	20	3	0	7		79	
Private									
Self-employed	284	206	110	79	25	33	12	750	
Employee in private practice	23	27	7	3	6	4	—	71	
Employee in commercial laboratory	4	7	1	—	—	—	—	12	
	Total	311	241	117	83	31	37	12	834	
Other									
Other	4	—	4	—	—	—	—	8	
Total	343	258	145	86	31	44	14	921	
Note: Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
Table A6.9: Practising prosthetists by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Sector/type of main practice	Remoteness area of main practice	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/Very remote	Australia	
	Persons	
Public						
Government clinic/laboratory	37	19	8	—	65	
Defence forces	—	—	—	—	—	
Public education institution	13	—	—	1	15	
Total	51	19	8	0	79	
Private						
Self-employed	511	194	43	3	750	
Employee in private practice	44	24	3	—	71	
Employee in commercial laboratory	11	1	—	—	12	
Total	565	218	46	3	834	
Other						
Other	6	2	—	—	8	
Total	622	240	54	4	921	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
Table A6.10: Practising prosthetists and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Remoteness area of main practice	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
Major city	240	183	94	67	23	—	14	622	
Inner regional	98	62	33	6	6	35	—	240	
Outer regional	5	13	13	13	2	9	—	54	
Remote/Very remote	—	—	4	—	—	—	—	4	
Total	343	258	145	86	31	44	14	921	
	Rate per 100,000 population	
Major city	4.8	4.8	3.9	4.5	2.0	. .	4.2	4.4	
Inner regional	7.1	6.0	3.7	2.5	3.3	11.0	. .	5.9	
Outer regional	1.2	5.2	2.1	6.7	. .	5.5	. .	2.8	
Remote/Very remote	. .	. .	3.1	. .	. .	. .	. .	0.9	
Total	5.0	5.0	3.5	4.2	2.0	9.0	4.2	4.4	
Notes 
1. Column/row totals may not sum to total because of rounding of estimates.
2. Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
Table A6.11: Average number of completed/repaired dentures in the last week by type and state/territory
Dentures issued	NSW	Vic	SA	WA	Tas	ACT	Australia	
Partial dentures completed	3.8	3.4	1.9	0.5	3.4	7.0	3.2	
Partial dentures repaired	2.7	2.3	2.8	0.5	2.4	4.3	2.4	
Full dentures completed	4.5	5.0	4.9	3.9	5.5	6.0	4.6	
Full dentures repaired	3.1	2.4	3.0	3.6	2.1	4.4	3.0	
Appendix B: Questionnaire
B1	Dentist labour force questionnaire 
B2	Dental hygienist/therapist/dual practitioner questionnaire 
B3	Dental prosthetists labour force questionnaire 
Appendix C: Estimated resident population by state/territory and remoteness area, 2006
State/territory	 	 	ASGC remoteness area	 	 	
	Major city	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote	Very remote	Total	
NSW	4,948,210	1,386,434	444,533	33,241	4,765	6,817,182	
Vic	3,835,851	1,036,976	250,641	4,842	—	5,128,310	
Qld	2,439,376	894,483	617,203	89,020	51,464	4,091,546	
WA	1,471,372	256,118	190,359	92,494	48,700	2,059,045	
SA	1,139,433	188,742	180,990	45,565	13,474	1,568,204	
Tas	—	316,943	162,743	7,652	2,584	489,922	
ACT	333,719	506	—	—	—	334,225	
NT	—	—	115,379	45,908	49,388	210,674	
Australia	14,167,961	4,080,202	1,961,849	318,721	170,375	20,699,108	
Note: Remoteness areas defined by ASGC (ABS 2008).
Source: AIHW Population database 2009.
Appendix D: Publications from the national dental labour force data collections
Articles
ARCPOH (Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health) Teusner DN 2005. Geographic distribution of the dentist labour force. Australian Dental Journal (Data watch) 50(2): 119–22.
ARCPOH, Teusner DN, Chrisopoulos S 2006. Australian dentist labour force 2003. Australian Dental Journal (Data watch). 51(2): 191–4.
ARCPOH, Chrisopoulos S, Teusner DN 2008. Dentists labour force projections 2005–2020: the impact of new regional dental schools. Australian Dental Journal (Data watch). 53(3): 292–96.
ARCPOH, Balasubramanian M, Teusner DN & Brennan DS 2010. Dental specialists in Australia. Australian Dental Journal (Data Watch) 55(1): 96–100.
Newsletters
AIHW DSRU (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Dental Statistics and Research Unit) 1992. AIHW Dental Statistics and Research newsletter. Adelaide: AIHW (Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter; vol. III; no. 2.
AIHW DSRU 1991. AIHW Dental Statistics and Research newsletter. Adelaide: AIHW (Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter; vol. II; no. 1.
AIHW DSRU 1990. AIHW Dental Statistics and Research newsletter. Adelaide: AIHW (Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter; vol. I; no. 1).
AIHW DSRU 1999. AIHW Dental Statistics and Research newsletter. Adelaide: AIHW (Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter; vol. X; no. 1) (DEN 49).
AIHW DSRU 1999. AIHW Dental Statistics and Research newsletter. Adelaide: AIHW (Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter; vol. X; no.2) (DEN 51).
AIHW DSRU 1999. AIHW Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter. Adelaide: AIHW (Dental Statistics and Research Unit newsletter; vol. X; no. 3) (DEN 52).

Research Reports
AIHW DSRU (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Dental Statistics and Research Unit) 2002. Dental hygienist labour force data collection, 2000. Research report no. 6. Adelaide: AIHW (DEN 97). 
AIHW DSRU 2002. Dental therapist labour force data collection, 2000. Research report no. 7. Adelaide: AIHW (DEN 110).
AIHW DSRU 2005. Dental hygienist labour force in Australia, 2003. Research report 
no. 22. Adelaide: AIHW (DEN 146).
AIHW DSRU 2006. Dental prosthetist labour force in Australia, 2003. Research report no. 25. Adelaide: AIHW. (DEN 150).
AIHW DSRU 2006. Dental therapist labour force in Australia, 2003. Research report 
no. 29. Adelaide: AIHW. (DEN 155).
Reports
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 1994. Dental practitioner statistics, Australia, 1992. AIHW Dental statistics and research series no. 6, Adelaide: The University of Adelaide.
AIHW 1996. Dental practitioner statistics, Australia, 1993. AIHW Dental statistics and research series no. 8, Adelaide: The University of Adelaide.
Spencer AJ, Teusner DN, Carter KD & Brennan DS 2003. The dental labour force in Australia: the position and policy directions. Cat. no. POH 2. Canberra: AIHW.
Szuster FSP & Spencer AJ 1997. Dental hygienist labour force Australia, 1996. AIHW Dental statistics and research series no. 12. Adelaide: The University of Adelaide.
Szuster FSP & Spencer AJ 1997. Dental practitioner statistics Australia, 1994. AIHW Dental statistics and research series no. 11. Adelaide: The University of Adelaide.
Szuster FSP & Spencer AJ 1997. Dental therapist labour force Australia, 1996. AIHW Dental statistics and research series no. 13. Adelaide: The University of Adelaide.
Teusner DN, Mihailidis S, Carter KD & Spencer AJ 2005. The South Australian dental labour force. Cat. no. POH 5. Canberra: AIHW. 
Teusner DN & Spencer AJ 2003. Dental labour force Australia, 2000. Dental statistics and research series no. 28. Canberra: AIHW.
Teusner DN & Spencer AJ 2003. Projections of the Australian dental labour force. Cat. no. POH 1. Canberra: AIHW.
References
ABDPH (American Board of Dental Public Health) 2009. Public Health Dentistry. Viewed 30 November 2009, <http://www.aaphd.org>. 
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2008. Australian Standard Geographic Classification. Cat. no. 1216.0. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
ADA (Australian Dental Association) 2009. Definition of Endodontics. Australian Society of Endodontology. Viewed 28 June 2010, < http://www.ada.org.au/societies/ase/>. 
ADC (Australian Dental Council) 2009. Consultation paper on the proposed arrangement of specialists. Canberra: Council of Australian Governments & Productivity Commission.
AIHW DSRU (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Dental Statistics and Research Unit) 2006. Dental labour force in Australia, 2005. Research report no. 33. Adelaide: AIHW. (DEN 172). 
Boucher CO 1982. Clinical Dental Terminology: a glossary of accepted terms in all disciplines of dentistry. London: The C.V. Mosby Company.
Baltutis L & Morgan M 1998. The changing role of dental auxiliaries: A literature review. Australian Dental Journal 43(5): 354–358.
Brennan DS, Spencer AJ & Szuster FS 1992. Differences in time devoted to practice by male and female dentists. British Dental Journal 172(9): 348–349.
Chrisopoulous S, Teusner DN 2008. ARCPOH (Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health), Dentist labour force projections 2005–2020: the impact of new regional dental schools. Australian Dental Journal (Data watch). 53(3): 292–96.
DEST (Department of Education, Science and Technology) 2007. Student completions for dental studies in all institutions 2006–07. Data request, prepared for the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health. Canberra: DEST.
Dunning JM 1972. Deployment and control of dental auxiliaries in New Zeland and Australia. The Journal of the American Dental Association 85(3): 618–626.
Gallagher JE & Wilson NHF 2009. The future dental workforce? [Opinion]. British Dental Journal 206(4): 195–199.
Maupome G, Hann HJ & Ray JM 2001. Is there a sound basis for deciding how many dentists should be trained to meet the dental needs of the Canadian population? Systematic Review of Literature (1968–1999). Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 67(2): 87–91.
Nash DA, Friedman JW, Kardos TB, Kardos RL, Schwarz E, Satur J et al. 2008. Dental therapists: A global perspective. International Dental Journal 58(2): 61–70.
Newman MG & Carranza FA 2006. Carranza's clinical periodontology. St Louis: Saunders/Elsevier.
NHWT (National Health Workforce Taskforce) 2008. Work Program: 2008–09. Health Workforce Australia. Viewed 30 November 2009, <http:// www.nhwt.gov.au>. 
Satur J 2009. The development of the dental therapy profession. History of dental therapy. Viewed 15 December 2009, <http://www.adohta.net.au/search.php?keywords=&cat_id=&page= 2&order_by=added_date.DESC>.
Spencer AJ, Teusner DN, Carter KD & Brennan DS 2003. The dental labour force in Australia: the position and policy directions. Canberra: AIHW.
Teusner DN, Chrisopoulous S & Spencer AJ 2008. Projected demand and supply for dental visits in Australia: an anlaysis of the impact of changes in key inputs. Canberra: AIHW.
Teusner DN & Spencer AJ 2003. Dental labour force, Australia 2000. Canberra: AIHW.
Wall CH & Hession RW 1981. The dental workforce 1981: a position statement to members. Australian Dental Journal 26(5): 351–59.
List of tables
Table 1: 	Dentist data collection details by state/territory, 2006
Table 2: 	Average age of dentists by sex, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Table 3: 	Practising dentists by state/territory and number of work locations, 2006
Table 4: 	Practising dentists by sector, age and hours worked, 2006
Table 5: 	Practising dentists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (number)
Table 6: 	Full-time equivalent dentists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006  (per 100,000 population)
Table 7: 	Practising dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Table 8: 	Full-time equivalent dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2003 and 2006
Table 9: 	Practising specialists by sex, 2003 and 2006
Table 10: 	Practising specialists by specialist group, 2003 and 2006
Table 11: 	Practising specialists and dentists by state/territory, 2006
Table 12: 	Practising specialists and dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table 13: 	Hygienists, therapists and OHTs data collection details by state/territory, 2006
Table 14: 	Dental prosthetist data collection details by state/territory, 2006
Table 15: 	Number of dental hygienists and practising rate, 1997 to 2006
Table 16: 	Practising dental hygienists by sector, age and hours worked in all practice locations, 2006
Table 17: 	Practising dental hygienists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Table 18: 	Number of dental therapists and practising rate, 1997 to 2006
Table 19: 	Practising dental therapists by sector, age and hours worked in all practice locations, 2006
Table 20: 	Practising dental therapists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Table 21: 	Practising OHTs by sector, age and hours worked in all practice locations, 2006
Table 22: 	Dental prosthetists and practising rate, 1998 to 2006 (number)
Table 23: 	Practising dental prosthetists by sector, age and hours worked, 2006
Table 24: 	Practising dental prosthetists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Table 25: 	Net growth of the dental labour force, 2003 and 2006
Table 26: 	Full-time equivalent public dentists by remoteness area of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Table A1.1: 	Registered dentists by work status, sex and state/territory, 2006
Table A1.2: 	Registered dentists by work status, sex and age group, 2006
Table A1.3: 	Practising dentists by hours worked per week, sex and age group, 2006
Table A1.4: 	Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex and age group, 2006
Table A1.5: 	Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex and hours worked per week, 2006
Table A1.6: 	Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and age group, 2006
Table A1.7: 	Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and hours worked per week, 2006
Table A1.8: 	Practising dentists by area of practice, sector and age group, 2006
Table A1.9: 	Practising dentists by age, sex and state/territory, 2006
Table A1.10: 	Practising dentists by age group, sex, average hours worked per week and state/territory, 2006
Table A1.11: 	Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex and state/territory, 2006
Table A1.12: 	Practising dentists by sector/type of main practice, sex and state/territory, 2006
Table A1.13: 	Practising dentists by age, sex and remoteness area, 2006
Table A1.14: 	Practising dentists by hours worked per week, sex and remoteness area, 2006
Table A1.15: 	Practising dentists by age, sex, average hours worked and remoteness area, 2006
Table A1.16: 	Practising dentists by area of main practice, sex, hours worked and remoteness area, 2006
Table A1.17: 	Practising dentists by remoteness area, age, hours worked and sector, 2006
Table A1.18: 	Number and practising rate of dentists by state/territory and remoteness areas, 2006
. Table A1.19: Practising dentists by state/statistical division, number, average hours worked, practising rate and full-time equivalent rate, 2006
Table A2.1: 	Practising specialists by hours worked per week, sex and age group, 2006
Table A2.2: 	Practising specialists by sector, age and hours worked, 2006
Table A2.3: 	Practising specialists by speciality, sex and state/territory, 2006
Table A2.4: 	Practising specialists by speciality, sex and remoteness area, 2006
Table A2.5: 	Practising specialists by speciality and selected characteristics, 2006
Table A3.1: 	Registered dental hygienists by work status and state/territory, 2006
Table A3.2: 	Practising dental hygienists by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Table A3.3: 	Practising dental hygienists by age group, average age and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
Table A3.4: 	Practising dental hygienists by hours worked per week in all locations and state/ territories, 2006
Table A3.5: 	Practising dental hygienists by hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A3.6: 	Practising dental hygienists by hours worked per week and age group, 2006
Table A3.7: 	Practising dental hygienists by sector/ type of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Table A3.8: 	Practising dental hygienists by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Table A3.9: 	Practising dental hygienists and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A4.1: 	Registered dental therapists by work status and state/territory, 2006
Table A4.2: 	Practising dental therapists by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Table A4.3: 	Practising dental therapists by age group, average age and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
Table A4.4: 	Practising dental therapists by sex, hours worked per week in all locations and state/territory, 2006
Table A4.5: 	Practising dental therapists by sex, hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A4.6: 	Practising dental therapists by sex, hours worked per week and age, 2006
Table A4.7: 	Dental therapists by sex, sector/type of main practice and state/territory 2006
Table A4.8: 	Practising dental therapists by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Table A4.9: 	Practising dental therapists and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A5.1: 	Registered OHTs by work status and state/territory, 2006
Table A5.2: 	Practising OHTs by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Table A5.3: 	Practising OHTs by age group and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
Table A5.4: 	OHTs by sex, hours worked per week in all locations and state/territory, 2006
Table A5.5: 	Practising OHTs by sex, hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A5.6: 	Practising OHTs by sex, hours worked per week and age, 2006
Table A5.7: 	Practising OHTs by sector/type of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Table A5.8: 	Practising OHTs by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Table A5.9: 	Practising OHTs and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A6.1: 	Registered prosthetists by work status and state/territory, 2006
Table A6.2: 	Practising dental prosthetists by type of practice (clinical versus laboratory) and selected characteristics
Table A6.3: 	Practising prosthetists by age group, average age and state/territory, 2006
Table A6.4: 	Practising prosthetists by age group and remoteness areas of main practice, 2006
Table A6.5: 	Prosthetists by hours worked per week in all locations and state/territory, 2006
Table A6.6: 	Practising prosthetists by sex, hours worked per week and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A6.7: 	Practising prosthetists by sex, hours worked per week and age, 2006
Table A6.8: 	Practising prosthetists by sector/type of main practice and state/territory, 2006
Table A6.9: 	Practising prosthetists by sector/type of main practice and remoteness area, 2006
Table A6.10: 	Practising prosthetists and rate per 100,000 population by state/territory and remoteness area of main practice, 2006
Table A6.11: 	Average number of completed/repaired dentures in the last week by type and state/territory
List of figures
Figure 1: All registered dentists in Australia, 2006
Figure 2: Registered and practising dentists, 1996 to 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 3: Practising dentists by sex, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Figure 4: Practising dentists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per cent)
Figure 5: Practising dentists by average hours usually worked per week, age group and sex, 2006
Figure 6: Practising dentists by practice type at main location, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 7: Practising dentists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 8: Practising dentists by sector and state/territory, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 9: Practising dentists by remoteness area of main practice, 2000, 2003 and 2006  (per 100,000 population)
Figure 10: Practising dentists by sector of practice and remoteness area of main practice, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 11: All dental specialists in Australia, 2006
Figure 12: Practising specialists by age group, 2003 and 2006
Figure 13: Practising specialists by average hours usually worked per week, age group and sex, 2006
Figure 14: Practising specialists by practice type at main location, 2006
Figure 15: Practising specialists and FTE by state/territory, 2006 (per 100,000  population)
Figure 16: Practising specialists by state/territory, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 17: Practising specialists by remoteness area of main practice, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 18: Practising specialists and full-time equivalent rate by speciality,  2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 19: Sex distribution of specialist categories, 2006
Figure 20: Practising specialists by sector of practice and average hours worked per week, 2006
Figure 21: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by age group, 2006
Figure 22: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by average hours usually worked per week and age group, 2006 Stacked line chart showing, specialists, GPs, and all dentists, on the y-axis hours and on the x-axis age group (years).
Figure 23: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by state/territory, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 24: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists by remoteness area, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 25: Practising specialists, general dental practitioners and all dentists  by sector of practice, 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 26: All registered dental hygienists in Australia, 2006
Figure 27: Practising dental hygienists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Figure 28: Practising dental hygienists by hours worked, preferred hours per week and  age group, 2006
Figure 29: Practising dental hygienists by number of locations worked and full‑time status, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 30: Practising dental hygienists by most common reasons for working part-time, 2006
Figure 31: Practising dental hygienists by type of practice at main practice, 2006  (per cent)
Figure 32: Average hours worked by dental hygienists by area of practice at main practice, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 33: Practising and full-time equivalent dental hygienists by state/territory 2006  (per 100,000 population)
Figure 34: Practising hygienists by remoteness area, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 35: All registered dental therapists in Australia, 2006
Figure 36: Practising dental therapists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Figure 37: Practising dental therapists by hours worked, preferred hours per week and age group, 2006
Figure 38: Practising dental therapists by number of locations worked and full‑time status, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 39: Practising dental therapists by type of practice at main practice location, 2006
Figure 40: Average hours worked by dental therapists based on area of main practice location, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 41: Practising dental therapists by most common reasons for working part-time, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 42: Practising and full-time equivalent dental therapists by state/territory, 2006  (per 100,000 population)
Figure 43: Practising therapists by remoteness area, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 44: All registered OHTs in Australia, 2006
Figure 45: Practising OHTs by age group, 2006
Figure 46: OHTs by average hours worked and preferred hours per week, and age group, 2006
Figure 47: Practising OHTs by type of practice based on main practice location, 2006
Figure 48: Practising OHTs by most common reasons for working part-time, 2006
Figure 49: Average hours worked, by activity by OHTs, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 50: Practising and full-time equivalent OHTs by state/territory, 2006  (per 100,000 population)
Figure 51: All registered dental prosthetists in Australia, 2006
Figure 52: Practising dental prosthetists by age group, 2000, 2003 and 2006
Figure 53: Practising dental prosthetists by years of practice, 2006
Figure 54: Practising dental prosthetists by type of practice, 2006
Figure 55: Practising dental prosthetists by most common reason for working part-time, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 56: Dentures completed or repaired by practising dental prosthetists, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 57: Full and partial denture services by main practice setting of dental prosthetists, 2006 (per cent)
Figure 58: Dental prosthetists by state/territory, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (per 100,000 population)
Figure 59: Practising dental prosthetists by remoteness area, 2000, 2003 and 2006  (per 100,000 population)
Figure 60: Practising dental labour force by sector of practice, 2006
Figure 61: Practising dental labour force by remoteness area of main practice, 2006  (per 100,000 population)

List of boxes
Box 1:	Dentist
Box 2:	Full-time equivalent (FTE) rate
Box 3:	Registered/practising dentists rate
Box 4:	Area and type of practice
Box 5:	Remoteness areas and statistical divisions
Box 6:	Specialities in dentistry
Box 7:	Services performed by dental hygienists
Box 8:	Services performed by dental therapists
Box 9:	Services provided by dental prosthetists
Box 10:	Clinical versus laboratory practice