Dental health, like all health, is a basic human right. After all, the mouth is a part of the body.
However, dentistry is not subsidised by Medicare. Australians contribute 58% of total dental expenditure out of their own pocket compared with 12% that they have to contribute for the rest of the body. Not having government support also means that basic dental treatment is difficult to afford for many Australians.
Now those eligible for public dental services amount to 36% of Australia’s population. However, government resources are only equipped to support one-fifth of this population group. So the public dental waiting lists are significant with many patients waiting up to two years to access comprehensive dental treatment.
Many residents in rural areas are hundreds of kilometres from the nearest dentist. So the tyranny of distance can also be a huge barrier.
Since its inception in 2017, The Dental Truck has provided comprehensive care as well as acute pain relief to communities who would otherwise not have access to proper dental care, frequenting southwest Queensland communities such as Cunnamulla and Quilpie, as well as the western New South Wales town of Bourke.
“I can’t imagine what state I’d be in right now if I hadn’t met Jalal.”
Agnes
36% of Australians are eligible for public dental treatment but state governments are able to help only one-fifth of this group.The are 77 dentists per 100,000 people in metropolitan cities compared to only 22.7 dentists per 100,000 people in rural Australia
Private dentistry is expensive because it is not subsidised by Medicare like general health is.
In 2017, whilst Australians out of pocket expenses for total medical expenditure was 12% but their contribution to total dental expenditure was 58%.Why is oral health considered a luxury by government such that individuals have to pay almost five times more for their teeth than their bodies?
Consequently, many Australians put off dental treatment which affects their oral and general health.
In 2016-2017, dental diseases accounted for 70,000 potentially preventable acute hospitalisations, second only to urinary tract infections. The oral health of Australians is costing individual Australians as well as the government.
