Dental care below 3rd world standards

It wont come as a shock to most of you to learn that public dental care in Victoria is in a state of crisis.

Australia now has one of the lowest standards of dental health of the 18 OECD countries. And out of all the Australian major states, Victoria has spent the least per head on public dental care. The OECD average for dentists is 56 dentists per 100,000 people, but in some rural areas, the ratio is as low as 17.3 dentists per 100,000 people. This ratio would be identified more with the Third World or developing world than with a First World nation like Australia. In my rural city of Bendigo, there remains only 1 dentist at the hospital.

For us on Commonwealth welfare benefits, lets take a moment to pitty those less fortunate than us. No, we are not the hardest hit victims in this crisis. The position for many of the "working poor" is, if anything, even worse, since they cannot afford private dental work, and do not qualify for public care. What if they need a tooth extracted that has been causing them excruciating pain and affecting their ability to go to work? Not only is their job and hence their family at risk, but they will have to somehow miraculously find $250 to pay a private dentist so get their tooth pulled out. And that’s for the simplest of procedures.

The rich minority, however, seem to be enjoying our misfortune, as the government in its reversed role of robin hood has stolen public funds from the poor and given it to the rich on a silver platter. The current subsidy arrangements mean that the government is spending between $316 million and $345 million p.a. on the minority of Australians who have private health cover, while allocating only $177 million on the dental care of the 4.7 million pensioners and unemployed. And for the working poor, the governments policy seems to be ‘let their teeth rot’.

The situation regarding waiting lists has escalated to such a point that by the time those eligible for public care get to see a dentist, their teeth are usually in an appalling condition, with the patient having suffered agonising pain and severe dental disability for a long period. In most cases extraction becomes the only option. No wonder why the rate of extraction in public institutions is roughly two and a quarter times greater than in private clinics.

What is the cause of our dental crisis? Our Governments don’t know how to prioritise and allocate tax payers money. They see it of more value to spend millions of dollars building a pretty monument in the city and to improve the lifestyle of the ‘already rich club’ than to reduce or even eradicate the waiting lists and provide assistance to the working poor. No wonder why our dental care system in Australia doesn’t even compare to those in Third-World countries where even the poorest of people can get medical treatment. Thanks Howard and Bracks.

Written by Shane MacPherson