| Follow us on Twitter |
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has released survey results that show nearly half of Australians believe they cannot afford basic dental treatment.
ACOSS says the research shows dental care in Australia is in crisis, with the poor and disadvantaged the worst affected.
The revelations come a day after the Federal Opposition called on the Government to put more money into dental care instead of taking over state hospitals.
The ACOSS survey found nearly a quarter of Australians have not seen a dentist for more than two years.
Nearly half those surveyed said it would be difficult to come up with the $300 needed for basic preventive treatment, and cost influenced their decision to see a dentist regularly.
Australian Dental Association (ADA) vice-president Neil Hewson says there are many different reasons why people are not going to the dentist when they should.
"Firstly, there are those people who are disadvantaged and just can't afford it," he said.
"Then there are half the people who can afford it and are doing quite well. Then maybe there's a group in between who are choosing not to do dental fees.
"It's interesting to look at household weekly expenditure and [to see] what households spend on dental fees is less than what they spend on personal care services, including hair, so for some people, perhaps it's a priority issue."
But Dr Hewson says the ADA's greatest concerns are for poorer Australians.
"[It is] mostly health care card holders who find dental treatment difficult to pay for themselves, so we believe any government supported dental treatment should be targeted to those most in need," he said.
Government
It is a problem that was recognised in the federal Budget this year when the Government announced $377 million to fix the teeth of people suffering from chronic illness.
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott also announced new Medicare dental items.
As debate continues over the Federal Government's decision to directly fund a Tasmanian hospital, Opposition health spokeswoman Nicola Roxon says there is more need for federal funds in dental care.
"There are 650,000 people waiting on public dental waiting lists around the country," she said.
"The community need could not be more clear or desperate and if Mr Howard wants to be consistent with what he's been saying ... he will step in now and provide that sort of support."
The dental health survey was commissioned by Australia Fair, of which ACOSS is a member.
ACOSS executive director Andrew Johnson says the results show three quarters of Australians want the Government to do more for dental health.
"Regular Australians want the Federal Government with the states to take a greater lead, because in good economic times and large Budget surpluses, it's particularly unfair that so many Australians can't access what is an essential service," he said.
"Half of Australians who are low-income and disadvantaged are waiting up to two years to get into the public dental system.
"It certainly is a crisis and that is born through both the recent polling we've just done when people were asked about their opinions on oral health.
"But also it came through much earlier in the setting up of the initiative when people said that oral health was important to ensure that there was a fair go for all." © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Posted August 3rd, 2007 by Dinka
