The nation’s oral health has yet again shown to be of no importance to the Morrison
government with scant mention of oral health made in last night’s 2022 pre-election Budget.
The failure to address the declining oral health of many older, poor and disadvanataged
Australians in the Treasurer’s speech does not bode well for it to be addressed in May’s
Federal election either.
“This is a very disappointing outcome,” said ADA CEO Damian Mitsch, “when we know that
thousands of people have to wait years to get a dental appointment in the public system.
“Also, there are large numbers of Australians including those in residential aged care, those
on Level 4 Homecare Packages, those from socially and economically challenged
backgrounds and Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander populations for whom dental care is
unaffordable.
“The ADA has put to successive governments and to the Royal Commission into Aged Care
Quality and Safety our plan to fix the inequity in oral care between those who can afford their
own dental care and those who have to wait years in the public system.”
While National Partnership Agreements were once again extended in the Budget to ensure
public dental services for another year or two, this is a Band-Aid measure for a broken system.
The solution to the funding crisis in dental care for older Australians and which was agreed
upon by Aged Care Commissioners in their final report to government, is the adoption of the
ADA’s Seniors Dental Benefits Schedule (SDBS) to make dentistry affordable to older
Australians.
The SDBS would fund dental services for people in residential care and older people who live
in the community and receive the aged pension.
“If the government adopted the SDBS, it would mean funding dental care for older Australians
as well as some fundamental systems finally being put into place to ensure better dental care
for residential and home care residents,” said Damian Mitsch.
Glaring inadequacies of the aged care sector result in residents going for days without anyone
brushing their teeth and/or dentures, painful oral conditions remaining untreated for long
periods, insufficient visits from dental staff, and a lack of training in oral healthcare by time-
poor staff.
“Our plea to look at this solution has yet to be taken up by a political party with the foresight
to see that investment in the nation’s oral health now, saves the public purse billions of dollars
further down the track – from presentations at hospital emergency departments for people no
longer able to withstand the pain in their mouths, right through to the knock-on effects of poor
oral health on the rest of the body including cardiac events, Type 2 diabetes and poor
pregnancy outcomes.”
In the run-up to the Federal election, the ADA has put a series of oral health questions to the
four main parties to ascertain their oral health policies. Their responses will form ‘Report
Cards’ on how their plans to fix our ailing oral health system measure up.
Damian Mitsch added: “These responses and our members’ reactions to them, will be sent to
MPs in members’ constituencies and to the media, to ensure that the main parties’ oral health
policies – or lack of them – are known to everyone.
“That way people vote with their eyes wide open in full knowledge of which party has prioritised
oral health.”
