Grim picture on oral health for NSW
A report conducted on behalf of the New South Wales Oral Health Alliance, of which Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW is a key member, paints a grim picture about the oral health of clients of non-government human service organisations in New South Wales.
Based on survey responses from 750 respondents, the report points to three significant barriers to maintaining adequate oral health for low income and disadvantaged groups in the community: waiting times, cost and difficulty accessing dental services.
Other significant access barriers identified by the survey include distances between where people live and where dental services are located; the lack of transport options to access dental services; difficulty accessing preventative services (‘you only get in if you have a problem’); low staffing levels and unfilled positions in public dental services; and difficulty using interpreter services when accessing public dental services.
