Millions of Australians are foregoing essential dental care due to prohibitive costs, with a growing movement advocating for the inclusion of dental services under Medicare. The debate continues to inflame. Don Batty, a Queensland pensioner, describes waiting years for public dental care. More than 140,000 people in Queensland are on the waiting list for non-urgent dental care. This staggering number reveals a bigger issue – underfunding and overwhelming public dental system demand.
Don Batty, who has been waiting nearly two years for public dental care, expressed his frustration: “There is no way I can save enough money to spend the thousands that are required to go to a private dentist.” At 80 years old, he described his deteriorating dental health, saying, “I’m very embarrassed by my teeth and I try not to smile because I frighten people.” His plight is an all too common experience especially for those Australians with a fear of dentistry who avoid seeking timely care.
The Need for Change
The Greens party has been carrying the torch as the most outspoken proponent for the inclusion of dental care in Medicare. Jordon Steele-John, a member of the Greens, emphasized the urgency of addressing this issue, stating, “There’s a lot of ambition for dental to be covered by Medicare.” He acknowledged that immediate changes may not be forthcoming, citing potential challenges in navigating the legislative process: “I can’t say to people that in the short term there’s going to be any change to dental.”
Chris Sanzaro president, has estimated it would require at least a minimum annual return for a Medicare-funded dental scheme for seniors. He argues that this investment ought to be between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion. He pointed out the significant correlation between poor dental health and overall health, noting, “A lot of links between poor dental health and overall health. The one link we know is very strong is between diabetes and poor dental health.”
To say the current public dental system is overwhelmed would be an understatement. Peter Breadon of the Grattan Institute Health Program pointed to those challenges, calling the system “underfunded” and “overwhelmed”. He suggested that a phased approach could alleviate some of the pressure: “We suggest you start by phasing in disadvantaged people, you expand to their families, and then you might add age groups like children or older people.”
Long Waiting Times Across Australia
In reality, waiting times for public dental services depend greatly on where in Australia you live. In the Northern Territory (NT), patients experience astronomical waits of up to 16 months for outpatient treatments alone. They wait a median of over 2.5 years just to get their first appointment. Tasmania is not far behind on the list, suffering from extended years-long wait times. At the same time, Queensland continues to say that 140,000 people are waiting for non-urgent public dental care.
In the case of Australia’s westernmost province, Western Australia, their waiting times are comparatively much shorter—only 5.4 months—across the board for non-urgent treatment. South Australia does better than most states, with an average wait time of seven months. In New South Wales, for patients needing non-urgent routine care, the highest recommended waiting times are up to 18 months.
This inequitable access to dental care puts the health and wellbeing of all Australians at risk. With almost 90,000 potentially preventable hospitalizations annually due to dental disease, the case for reform grows stronger.
A Call to Action
As the conversation around dental care heats up, advocates and other stakeholders are calling on the federal government to act quickly with funding and reform. The increasing number of individuals added to the dental care queue—over 10,000 in just the past year—underscores the urgency of addressing this mounting crisis.
Dr. Sanzaro reiterated the financial implications of expanding Medicare coverage for dental services: “It would be somewhere between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion a year.” This significant investment would require careful planning and phased implementation to ensure that disadvantaged populations receive priority support.
Steele-John remains hopeful that opportunities will arise during legislative discussions to advance the cause of dental health reform. “There may well be moments where there is an opportunity to raise the issue in the course of the passage of a debate or in the course of a passage of a piece of legislation.”
