British dental journal
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British dental journal · Jan 2005
The effectiveness of out-of-hours dental services: I. Pain relief and oral health outcome.
To compare the effectiveness of four types of out-of-hours emergency dental service, including both 'walk-in' and telephone-access services. ⋯ Neither the setting where emergency dental patients are seen, nor the type of dentist who sees them, appear to have any significant effect on patient-reported health outcomes. Although further exploration of the factors that predict poor pain relief or low oral health gain is required, future research on these services should focus on the process of care and accessibility.