Frequency of examination of children by dentists working under different payment systems in the United Kingdom.

The aims of this study were, first, to determine the frequency of dental examination of child patients by general dental practitioners working under a fee-for-service or capitation payment system in eight areas of the United Kingdom and, secondly, to consider how the frequency of examination varied by dentist payment system, by area, by age of the child and by dentist. The number of examinations carried out by 198 general dental practitioners over a one-year period for 17,389 children aged 0-15 years was recorded. The mean number of examinations per year for children treated by dentists working under the fee-for-service system was 1.7, and for those treated under the capitation system 1.6; this difference, although small, was statistically significant. The dentist and the age of the child were also shown to be related to the number of examinations but not the area in which the dentist worked.