Media Statement - 11th December 2008
Public dental patients 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
released today, 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 per cent of public emergency patients and 39 per cent of general patients had fewer than 21 teeth compared with 11 per cent of the general population
- Public patients were far more likely to have tooth decay. 50 per cent of public emergency patients and 42 per cent of public general patients had tooth decay compared with 26 per cent 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.
In March and again in September, the Government sought to cease the Liberals’ failed dental scheme and deliver on its election commitment to introduce a $290 million Commonwealth Dental Health Program to provide better services to public dental patients - a policy that the Australian public voted for at the last election.
Unfortunately, these efforts were twice blocked by the Liberals and Nationals in the Senate.
Under Labor’s Commonwealth Dental Health Program, up to a million extra public dental services would be delivered - targeted at disadvantaged Australians such as pensioners and concession card holders and Indigenous Australians, with key priority groups including people with chronic illnesses and pre-school children.
The Coalition must reconsider their irresponsible opposition to this desperately needed injection of funds into public dental services.
This will allow the Government to get on with the job of establishing a Commonwealth Dental Health Program so that the most disadvantaged in our community can get their teeth fixed when they need it.