Summary

Dental visiting declined from adolescence to young adulthood but appears to stabilise into the mid-20s age group.

Use of dental services for a problem rather than for a check-up increases as children become adolescents and then young adults, but is relatively constant into the mid-20s.

Despite an increase in private insurance and in difficulty in paying a $100 dental bill, similar numbers had avoided dental care because of the cost in both the 20–25 and 22–28 year age groups.

Slightly fewer young adults reported receiving a filling and more reported having a tooth extracted in the previous 12 month in the older age group than the younger groups

One in five young adults reported being concerned about their appearance due to oral problems, and almost one in five had experienced toothache in the previous 12 months.