New dental programs may not fill the gaps

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA), has urged the Government to ensure that people with chronic illnesses can still receive treatment for related dental problems, under the Government’s Commonwealth Dental Health Program.

“AHHA understands that the Government has written to dentists, asking them not to treat patients with chronic disease under the Medicare dental rebate scheme, as this will soon be replaced by the new Dental Health Program and the Teen Dental Program,” Ms Prue Power, executive director, said.

“While the AHHA supports both these Government programs, and believes that they will increase access to dental care to important groups in the community, we are concerned that they will leave some people with chronic illnesses, without access to affordable dental care”.

“Many people with chronic illnesses experience associated dental problems which can exacerbate their condition.  If they do not have adequate access to dental care, these problems can become more serious and sometimes require hospitalisation. 

“This causes unnecessary pain and suffering and imposes a burden on our already stressed public hospital system.  In fact, in 2007, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), estimated that over 43,000 avoidable public hospital admissions a year are due to dental problems, which could have been prevented through better community based dental care. 

“The new Commonwealth Dental Health Program will provide enhanced access to dental care for concession card holders with chronic medical conditions. However, unlike the previous Medicare based program, people with chronic illnesses, who do not have concession cards will not be eligible for subsidised treatment. 

“This is likely to cause problems of access to affordable dental care for low to middle income earners, particularly those with chronic illnesses, who often face substantial additional health care expenses. 

“AHHA believes that establishing a permanent advisory body to the Commonwealth on dental health issues would assist in identifying and addressing any gaps in the implementation of these new dental programs. 

“We encourage the Government to establish such a body, and to work with dental health experts, practitioner, and consumer groups to ensure that high quality, preventive dental care is available to all in the community,” Ms Power said.