The number of calls for an extension of Medicare-funded dental care in Australia – Health

The oral health of Australians should be a priority in the next federal election, according to health experts, who are calling on the federal government to significantly expand Medicare-funded dental care.

About one third of the Australian population is eligible for public dental services, but it is estimated that there is only the capacity to provide oral health care to about 20% of eligible people.

As a result, more than two million Australians delay or avoid going to the dentist every year because of the costs, and hundreds of thousands of Australians remain on the public waiting list. for more than a year.

Stephen Duckett, the author of a new report from the Grattan Institute calling for universal dental coverage, said that the current Australian approach to oral health was an "unfair and dilapidated ploy" .

"What is mind-boggling when you think about it is that the politics of the mouth is distinct from the politics of all other aspects of the body," Dr. Duckett said.

The report follows a $ 5.8 billion announcement on electoral politics by Green Leader Richard Di Natale, who promised last week to provide Medicare-funded dental care to all children, retirees, full beneficiaries and concession card holders.

"Your health should not be determined by your postal code or bank balance," said Dr. Di Natale in a statement.

"Untreated dental diseases can have a tremendous impact on a person's health and quality of life, and it is the most vulnerable people in our community who are most affected."

According to the report, the federal government "provides almost as much financial support for dental care through reimbursement of private health insurance – which goes disproportionately to high-income households – as to low-income individuals. returned".

Significant barriers for low-income people

In Australia, most dental care is provided by the private sector and funded by patient funds.

Of the $ 9.9 billion spent on dental care in 2015-16, Australians spent 58% of the costs.

According to the Grattan Institute report, "relying heavily on people who fund their own dental care creates significant financial barriers for many Australians, especially those with low incomes".

About 60% of low-income people have not seen a dentist in the last year.

Of the Australians who visited a dentist, about one-fifth of people were prevented from getting the recommended treatment because they could not afford it.

"The cost of dental care means that many people jump or delay at the dentist even when they need care," wrote the authors.

"The consequence of this is poor generalized oral health."

In Australia, 90% of adults and 40% of children have had tooth decay.

Low income people are more likely to have periodontal disease, untreated tooth decay or missing teeth.

"Of course, a wide range of social, economic and cultural factors affect the oral health of a person, but the ability to seek care when needed is an extremely important factor," they wrote.

In Australia, publicly funded care is available for most children through the Child Dental Benefit Program and for adults with a health card or retiree concession card.

However, the eligibility and organization of public dental programs vary considerably from state to state and from territory to territory.

Dr. Duckett said the federal government should take responsibility for funding primary dental care, starting with support for retirees and health card holders, before gradually implementing a universal system.

"At first, you would start by changing the way public dental services are funded," he said.

"Then you extend it to private dental services."

He said the system, like Medicare, would imply that the federal government establish a fee schedule and pay for public dental services and private dental offices for the services provided.

More attention to oral health

The Australian Dental Association (ADA), the Australian body par excellence for dentists, said it was pleased with "increased attention to oral health".

"Dental care is significantly underfunded, to the point that a vast majority of people eligible for current plans can not even access it," said ADA spokesman Dr. Stephen Liew. .

"Is it a country where 63,000 Australians are hospitalized each year because of preventable oral health problems, and where 90% of adults suffer from tooth decay?

"Or is a country that can sit proudly on the world stage thanks to a government that has finally acted to improve our staggering rates of oral diseases?"

The Australian Consumer Health Forum (CHFA) ​​has also supported calls for greater integration of dental services into the Australian public health system.

"Dental care should be part of Medicare, just as the mouth is an inseparable part of the body," said Leanne Wells, executive director of CHFA.

"In a twenty-first century health system, people should not be able to meet their dental needs."