Australia - One in four Australians has untreated tooth decay

Dental care is failing the needy
Email Print Normal font Large font Mark Metherell
March 19, 2007
Abbott rules out adding dental treatment to Medicare
ONE in four Australians has untreated tooth decay and public dental care has remained "chronically under-funded" for the past decade, a new national survey of oral health shows.
The findings, which also show about 50 per cent of adults have only "irregular" visits to the dentist, step up pressure on the Federal Government, which tomorrow will be pressed by a national dental alliance to ensure disadvantaged people see a dentist at least every two years.
The Federal Government spends almost as much on health insurance subsidies for private dental care, $438 million a year, as the states spend in total on public dental services, about $500 million.
But the Health Minister, Tony Abbott, yesterday rejected calls for federal intervention, saying "no one should expect further dental initiatives from the Federal Government … I am not ruling them out but I am not ruling them in".
On Labor's promise to restore a national dental program, Mr Abbott said: "Why would you trust it to fix dental services when state Labor governments have been responsible for stuffing up public dentistry?"
Mr Abbott on Saturday released the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's national survey of adult oral health - the first such report in 17 years - which found that in many cases disadvantaged people were three times more likely to have dental problems.
The "pervasive nature of disadvantage is such that it calls for a range of interventions including efforts to tackle the root causes of disadvantage itself", the report said.
The widespread introduction of fluoride into drinking water and toothpaste had not "immunised" people born between 1967 and 1983 against decay.
The report said that on the basis of 2002 figures on public dental care spending, there would only have been enough money to provide every eligible person with one session of basic preventive care every five years.
"Overall this paints a picture of the public system as providing sporadic and problem-oriented care to a small percentage of the eligible population."
Thirty per cent of people said they avoided dental care because of cost and about 20 per cent said that cost had prevented them from having recommended dental treatment.
The Australian Council of Social Services and the Australian Dental Association have established an alliance with other concerned groups and will put their case for national intervention to Mr Abbott tomorrow.
Labor's health spokeswoman, Nicola Roxon, said: "Working families are suffering. Australians are missing out on treatment they need. And Tony Abbott won't help them."