The Federal Government released its new dental health plan earlier this month but despite the $515 million allocated over four years, more is needed to make up for past deficiencies in the Australian dental care system, writes Ramona Pradella.
New dental plan is just a start
Shane Fryer, president of the Australian Dental Association (ADA), welcomed the plan’s focus on disadvantaged patients on waiting lists and in rural areas, but said it does not address the structural changes that are needed.
“The budget proposal is a good first step but still not significant enough,” he said.
Mr Fryer said the public dental system infrastructure needs to be improved because there was “no sufficient capability to provide treatment to everybody”.
Currently 85 per cent of dentists work in the private sector. To cut public waiting lists, private and public dentists have to make arrangements, Mr Fryer said.
Nor, in his view, does the plan provide a solution for the 30 per cent of Australians who don’t have access to dental care or address the major budget blowout of the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme that has cost more than $2.3 billion.
“Despite several attempts to close it down, it is still running. It is not a targeted scheme and doesn’t reach the people in need,” Mr Fryer said.
Introduced in 2007, the scheme provides up to $4250 per patient for dental treatments.
Simon Crittle, spokesman for federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek, agreed the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme was “poorly targeted” and said it remained government policy to close it down.
“We will continue to work with all parties to close the scheme,” he said.
But Mr Crittle said that 400,000 patients on public waiting lists would benefit from the new measures.
Greens senator Richard Di Natale said the Greens had negotiated with the Government to design a national system to help Australians access the dental care they need.
He said he was very happy with the new scheme describing it as the “right way to go” towards a national Denticare program.
“It is exactly the outcome we needed in this year’s budget to start Australia on the road to Denticare,” Senator Di Natale said.
