December 2006

An appropriate quality of medical care including dental care should be an objective of every government that aims to improve the oral health of its population. Objectives: To determine performance indicators that could be used to assess the quality of primary dental care at different levels of a health care system, the sources for data collection and finally, the dimensions of quality measured by these indicators. Method: An explorative study of the international literature was conducted using medical databases, journals and books, and official websites of organisations and associations. Results: This resulted in a set of 57 indicators, which were classified into the following dimensions for each intended user group: For patients: health outcomes and subjective indicators; for professionals: their performance and the rates of success, failure and complications; for health care system managers and policymakers: their resources, finances and health care utilisation. Conclusion: A set of 57 performance indicators were identified to assess the quality of primary dental care at the levels of patients, professionals and the health care system. These indicators could be used by managers and decision-makers at any level of the health care system according to the characteristics of the services. Key words: dental care, dentistry, indicators, management, performance indicators, performance measures, quality.