Tuesday, 1 August 2023

Dental services

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (20:01): (336) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health. Next week is Dental Health Week, an important time to take stock of an area of health care that is seriously neglected. Unfortunately we have a legacy of separating dental health care from our broader public health system, which has devastating effects on people’s health. Dental health is inextricably linked to bodily health. Not only does poor oral health immediately impact eating, speech, self-esteem, education and employment opportunities, dental disease is also associated with a host of medical conditions, including infections, stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes, neurodegenerative conditions, inflammatory bowel disease and respiratory conditions. With wait times for public dental care sometimes reaching in excess of three years in some parts of the state, people are being forced into emergency services, placing an extra burden on our already stretched hospitals. In 2021 there were over 17,000 potentially preventable hospitalisations in Victoria due to dental conditions. That is 17,000 hospitalisations that would not have occurred if people had access to timely and affordable dental care. An interim report from the Greens-led federal Senate inquiry into access to dental care in Australia outlines the findings of a nationwide community survey. This survey received the largest number of responses to a committee survey in our nation’s history. The interim report demonstrates that the biggest barrier to access is cost – people simply cannot afford to go to the dentist. Victoria has public dental services, but –

The PRESIDENT: Time! Have you put your question?

Sarah MANSFIELD: The action I am seeking is to acknowledge the health impacts of being unable to access timely dental care and to take action to reduce dental wait times across all of Victoria.