Denticare – Dental care for everyone

Australia’s oral health is poor and getting worse. Less than half of Australians have favourable oral health and dental visiting patterns. This is largely due to the high cost of dental treatment. 60% of dental care is paid for out-of-pocket, with the result that a third of people say they can’t afford to go to the dentist, or delay going to the dentist because of the expense.

Good oral health is important for wellbeing. Complications from dental disease exacerbate other medical issues, especially in those segments of the population already unable to afford care.

Untreated dental disease results in an unnecessary burden on the health system: Up to 10% of GP visits are due to poor dental health, and more than 60,000 avoidable hospital visits a year are due to dental issues4. This costs the country approximately $500m in direct costs and up to $2 billion in lost productivity every year.

Just as the mouth is an integral part of the body, so too should dental care be part of the health system. The Greens propose that dental care should be incorporated into Medicare under a universal dental health scheme, Denticare.

Denticare will:

• Provide dental treatment covered by Medicare. Phasing in over five years, Medicarewill cover preventative and restorative dental treatment so that everybody can afford togo to the dentist.
• Start with the most needy. Low income earners, kids and teens, pensioners and those with chronic disease will be among the first to access dental treatment under Medicare.
• Invest in the public dental system. Injecting much-needed funds into the public system to decrease waiting lists and to revamp school dental programs.
• Build the dental workforce. To ensure that Australia has enough dental health professionals in the places they need to be, we propose increasing investment in dental training and placement.

Under Denticare, Dentists in private practice would be able to access Medicare items covering a range of preventative and restorative dental services provided directly to the public. At the same time, a major investment in the public dental system will help shorten queues and waiting times.

The Greens would preserve the funds currently spent on dental care by the Commonwealth government. Many Australians have already received dental treatment under the existing Chronic Disease Dental Scheme. As part of Denticare, this scheme would be amended to tighten its eligibility and range of services and expanded to cover the groups most in need of treatment.

Australia can afford to look after the oral health of its citizens. The eventual cost of Denticare would be $4.3 billion – $5 billion per annum.

Like to find out more about The Greens Denticare Initiative or get involved in the campaign? Go to www.greensmps.org.au/denticare