A record number of Australians are being treated for preventable dental conditions after, one in two Aussies are avoiding dental health treatments due to cost.
New data fromanalysed dental care and oral health data from the 2022-23 financial year.
It found that close to 90,000 hospitalisations for dental conditions could have potentially “been prevented with earlier treatment”.
AIHW noted that “many Australians face financial barriers in accessing dental services”.
Dentist costs
Australians spend around $11 billion on dental services per year.
One in two Australians aged 15 and over didn’t visit the dentist in 2022-23.
AIHW found that around one in six people who needed to see a dental professional either delayed or did not visit a dentist.
One in six reported cost as the main reason for not doing so.
The AIHW flagged cost barriers could be disproportionately impacting some groups.
For example, First Nations people were more likely to avoid the dentist due to cost than non-Indigenous Australians (49% compared with 39%).
Women were also more likely to avoid the dentist due to expenses than men (43% compared with 35%).
Insurance
Australians without private health insurance were twice as likely to avoid the dentist because of cost, compared to those with insurance.
However, AIHW spokesperson Dr Adrian Webster noted that “even after private health insurance payments,” out-of-pocket dental expenses varied greatly.
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For example, the median out-of-pocket cost of “a preventive service to remove plaque or stains” for private patients ranged from zero to $82, Dr Webster said.
Hospitalisations
Hospitalisations for preventable dental conditions reached 87,410 in 2022-23, compared to 63,910 in 2013-14.
The highest demographic of preventable dental hospitalisations was among five to nine-year-olds.
The rate of hospitalisations for potentially preventable dental conditions was consistently higher for women, First Nations people and those living in remote communities.
Response
Consumers Health Forum (CHF) is an affordable and accessibleadvocacy body.
It said the AIHW report shows dental care “remains out of reach to many Australians.”
CHF CEO Dr Elizabeth Deveny has called for a Medicare overhaul to improve the public dental system.
“We have adults in some parts of the country waiting 500 or 600 days to getin on the public dental system. This clearly isn’t a universal system whichprovides for all,” Deveny said.
Medicare
Last month, Health Minister Mark Butler ruled out expanding Medicare support to include dental care.
Instead, he pointed to a Medicare scheme that gives children in eligible families access to $1,100 of dental services every two years.
With “only about 40% of eligible kids using that service,” Butler said he was focused on “lifting that number”.
“We know good oral health in childhood and adolescence sets you up really well for the rest of your life,” he said.
