Tara Murray and Sarah Oliver
Residents in Melton are waiting for just over two and a half years to get a dentist appointment, according to new data.
The average wait time in Melton for an appointment is 35.2 months, or two years and seven months.
The Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB) study showed waiting times across the state have “ballooned” as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate the problems of an under-resourced public dental system.
Across the state the average waiting time for general dental care in the public dental system is 24.8 months at the end of 2021.
In data obtained under Freedom of Information by the ADAVB, it showed the average waiting time for general dental care at IPC Health in St Albans was 45.3 months, up from 29 months at the end of the 2020-21 financial year.
The wait time for denture care is 25.5 months, higher than the state average of 20.7 months.
At Western Health’s public dental care service, the wait time for general care is on average 35.2 months and is 43 months for cohealth.
The ADAVB said that access to basic dental care and chronic underfunding continue to bite.
“There are more than 1.5 million adults who are eligible to access public dental care in Victoria, but only 100,000 were able to receive care in the six months to December 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate the problems of an under-resourced public dental system.
“Waiting times for general dental care have now increased on average to 24.8 months across Victoria, the worst delays in care this decade.
“This average hides the dire story across the state, with 34,000 patients forced to wait more than three years.
“Long waiting times for dental care mean existing dental problems worsen. As a result, around half of all courses of care are for emergency treatment rather than routine and preventive care.”
The ADAVB is calling on both the state and federal governments to increase their investment in public dentistry so that vulnerable Victorians are able to smile.
Among the things they are calling for is the establishment of aMedicare Seniors Dental Benefits Scheme, an increase of the number of public dental patients treated per year to 800,000 within five years, developing a sustainable funding strategy and Introducing new measures to address long waiting times.”
