Data for Nicholls shows the average waiting time for public general dental health care in the Goulburn Valley is 8.4 months, with the longest wait time being 15 months as of December 2021.
Only a small fraction of the estimated eligible population of adults (46,766) and children (29,589) in the GV accessed dental care in 2021, with 2927 adults and 750 children actually receiving treatment.
Victoria-wide, there are more than 1.5 million adults who are eligible to access public dental care, but only 100,000 were able to receive care in the six months to December 2021, according to the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch.
This data, obtained under Freedom of Information from Dental Health Services Victoria in January 2022 by ADAVB, has raised harsh criticism from Victorian dental associations.
“How long is it reasonable for there to be such glaring inequity in access to oral health and dental care, where many of the 40 per cent of Australians eligible for free or low-cost public care are made to wait often two to three years for basic care?” Victorian Oral Health Alliance spokesperson Tony McBride said.
The average statewide wait times for public general dental care have now increased on average to 24.8 months, the worst delays in 10 years, according to the ADAVB. But behind the average, 34,000 patients were forced to wait more than three years.
“By comparison even in the worst-served parts of Australia, you can generally get to see a GP in two to three weeks, or a specialist mostly in three to four months — not years.”
“And how long do all Australians wait for more significant action on prevention of gum disease and caries, when oral diseases are among the most preventable of all diseases?”
The dental situation in regional Victoria has been worse than in metropolitan areas for a long time, Mr McBride said, with Echuca’s average wait time for general dental care at 29.7 months, and Seymour’s being 18.7 months.
Rural dental services have suffered from two main factors, Mr McBride said: historic underfunding of public dental services by state and federal governments; and workforce shortages, because salaries are much lower than staff can get in the private sector.
Victorian dental associations have recognised recent “catch-up funding” by the state government; however, the Federal Government has let dental funding for adults gradually reduce over past eight years, Mr McBride said.
According to the Aged Care Royal Commission, the Federal Government is the main funder of aged care. In 2018-19, which is the last year for which all data is currently available, the Commonwealth funded $19.9 billion of the total of $27 billion spent on aged care.
“A good initial step would be for the Federal Government to fund a recommendation of the Royal Commission, namely a Senior Dental Benefits Scheme,” Mr McBride said.
“The Aged Care Royal Commission found countless stories of suffering from pain and discomfort, and inability to access timely and affordable dental care.”
ADAVB chief executive Associate Professor Matthew Hopcraft said the Federal Government’s announced incentive scheme to encourage more doctors to work in regional areas should be expanded to include dental practitioners to help with regional health workforce shortages.
“Oral health is often worse in regional areas, and some of this is due to difficulties in accessing care. But we also see many regional communities still do not have access to water fluoridation – a simple evidence-based prevention strategy to reduce tooth decay,” Dr Hopcraft said.
“The Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch has been advocating to fluoridate towns like Tatura to help improve oral health.”