By Olivia Condous
New data has highlighted the severity of long wait times for public dental services, with people in the Melton and Moorabool region waiting 39 and 28 months for care respectively.
The Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB) figures show waiting times for public dental care in Victoria continued to surge over the last 12 months.
ADAVB chief executive Associate Professor Matt Hopcraft said the wait time statistics clearly highlighted the problems of an under-resourced public dental system.
“There are more than 1.5 million adults who are eligible to access public dental care in Victoria, but only 181,000 were able to receive care in the 12 months to June 2022,” he said.
“Waiting times for general dental care have now increased on average to 26.7 months across Victoria, the worst delays in care this decade.”
According to the ADAVB data, wait times for general dental care through Western Health, the public health provider that services Melton and Moorabool, are currently sitting at about 30 months with more than 2000 patients waiting.
However Western Health dental manager Peter Daffy said while wait list numbers had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people waiting for general dental care at the providers dental service in Melton had decreased by 55 per cent since January.
“This is largely thanks to Dental Health Services Victoria’s Centralised Wait List Management Process, which sometimes includes the issuing of vouchers to private dental services,” Mr Daffy said.
“Patients eligible for treatment at the Western Health Dental Service are Health Care holders and Pension Care holders, as well as priority groups.”
Ass. Prof Hopcraft said the state and federal governments needed to prioritise the importance of dental health further.
“It is vital that the Victorian government ensures that we have a strong public dental sector so that vulnerable Victorians can access necessary care.”
