Jennifer Pittorino
The wait time to access public dental care in the west has continued to grow, according to data obtained by the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB).
The ADAVB obtained data under freedom of information from Dental Health Services Victoria, shows the he wait time to access general dental care at cohealth Footscray was 15.2 months in the 12 months from July 2022 – June 2023.
cohealth said it isalways looking to reduce waiting times, and have asked state and federal government’s for help.
“We know that the longer people wait for dental care, the worse their dental health becomes,” it said.
“With the demand for public dental care at an all-time high, we would encourage greater state and federal governments investment in the public dental system.”
According to cohealth, iIn June this year, it made a submission to the inquiry by the Senate Select Committee into the Provision and Access to Dental Services in Australia.
In this submission cohealth recommended an increased federal and state investment in public dental care.
An increased investment in oral health promotion and early intervention to improve people’s oral health and reduce the need for more complex care, and to ensure public oral health funding models and enterprise bargaining agreements deliver competitive employment conditions for oral health practitioners.
“We recently joined with Dental Health Services Victoria to take dental vans to public housing high rises across Melbourne to offer check-ups, dental information and connect people to follow-up treatment,” cohealth said.
“The success of this program demonstrated the impact of bringing services to communities where people live.
“This program recognised the barriers that exist for public housing residents and empowered them with information about their public dental eligibility.
“Recognising these barriers is key to ensuring that people with healthcare vulnerabilities get the dental care they need.”
A state government spokesperson said government is always supporting initiatives to improve the dental health of Victorians.
“Particularly providing priority access to the most vulnerable Victorians and those requiring emergency care.
“We have made great progress in driving down wait list times in the past year – and we’re working closely with Dental Health Services Victoria to continue to bring down the wait list.”
