Dental report calls for more funding for public dental health care

Public dental patients – many of whom are older Australians and pensioners – are far more likely to have fewer teeth, more decay and serious gum disease than the broader Australian population.
 
These are just a few of the troubling findings of two new reports, which confirm the urgent need for more funding for public dental care – and demonstrate exactly why Australia needs a Commonwealth Dental Health Program.

The Health Issues Centre report Why is He not Smiling: the Dental Costs Study and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report Oral Health of Adults in the Public Dental Sector show the extensive disadvantages faced by public dental patients across Australia.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found:

* Public patients were far more likely than others to have fewer than 21 teeth: 35% of public emergency patients and 39% of general patients had fewer than 21 teeth compared with 11% of the general population
* Public patients were far more likely to have tooth decay: 50% of public emergency patients and 42% of public general patients had tooth decay compared with 26% of the general population.
* Public dental patients were more likely to have gum disease: 24% of public emergency patients and 31% of public general patients had gum disease compared with 20% of the general population.

The Health Issues Centre report confirmed that untreated oral health problems only worsen over time. In addition, their study found patients who have been on dental waiting lists for more than two years have required three times as much periodontal treatment as those who had been on waiting lists for two to four months.