Dental Waiting Lists

Dental Waiting Lists

Colac adults are waiting an average of two years for general public dental care, and three years for dentures.

Public dental waiting lists are growing, although children, pregnant women, Aborigines and refugees receive priority care.

Colac received a new public dental clinic at Colac Area Health in 2008, which works with Barwon Health to provide dental services for a fee to adults with health care or pension cards of $27.50.

But Barwon Health’s director of oral health services Dr Michael Smith said the clinic was struggling to keep up with demand, with the service adding an extra 35 people to its waiting list each month.

“It’s a fantastic clinic we’ve got at Colac, its state-of-the-art, but the waitlist is continuing to grow and that’s for a variety of reasons,” Dr Smith said.

“Colac has only had fluoride in its town water for 18 months, so we expect to see some form of reduction in dental caries over the next few years because of that, although a lot of people still don’t drink the town water but soft drinks and bottled water instead,” he said.

“We’re also working hard to break a cycle of behaviour in terms of dental health – reducing sugar intake will definitely go a long way, as well as losing the expectation that you lose your baby teeth so it doesn’t matter how you take care of them,” he said.

“We have to be promoting that everyone should aim to keep their teeth for life, and you have to start young if you want to achieve that.

“The high demand for the service also leads to more hospital admissions, with more patients requiring anaesthetics, and poor dental health can lead to a whole range of health issues.”

Children up to Grade Six can access public dental services without a health care card, and are exempt from a waiting list until they complete Year 12.

Colac mother Robyn Ward said Colac’s public dental service had helped her children receive regular dental treatment.

“With private dental fees as high as they are, it’s almost impossible to have your family see the dentist as often as they should after they’re in Grade Six,” Ms Ward said.

“So without this public system I don’t know what a lot of parents would do – the kids would suffer,” she said.

“We’ve only recently received a health care card and it’s a big benefit in this case.”

Colac Area Health chief executive officer Geoff Iles said the dental clinic met demand from a “wide catchment”, including Colac Otway and Corangamite shires.

“Colac is fortunate to have such a great facility and offer public dental services in partnership with Barwon Health, but there is some way to go in meeting the high demand for the service,” Mr Iles said.

“We’re looking forward to utilising the facility to its maximum potential within the next year.”

Story courtesy of the Colac Herald.