Melbourne Dental School academics welcome Senate ‘roadmap’ to improve Australia’s dental and oral health outcomes

A new Australian Senate report investigating dental and oral health inequalities in Australia lays the foundation for change, experts from the Melbourne Dental School at the University of Melbourne say.

The report, A system in decay: a review into dental services in Australia, was produced by the Australian Senate Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia.

The report sets out 35 new recommendations to improve dental and oral health as well as new messaging on oral health, ‘putting the mouth back into the body’.

The school was delighted to see a clear recommendation that the Australian Government recognises oral health as an essential part of general health and establishment of a Chief Dental and Oral Health Officer and Office of Dental and Oral Health in the Department of Health and Aged care to co-ordinate national reforms.

In a submission to the Select Committee, experts from the Melbourne Dental School called for oral health to be seen as a critical component in overall health and wellbeing.

Melbourne Dental School Head Professor Alastair Sloan welcomed the report, and said it sets out a “roadmap to address chronic and long-standing dental health inequities in Australia.”

“At the moment we know that there is a clear and significant challenge for some Australians to access equitable dental and oral healthcare,” Professor Sloan said.

“Yet we know that your oral health is linked to your overall health.

“Oral health is a window to your general health and yet for many Australians it is seen as a luxury that they cannot afford. This needs to change.”

Senior Research Fellow Dr Ankur Singh said: “We also note that oral healthcare is a critical starting point towards shaping discussions on other key social and commercial determinants of oral health and oral health inequalities.”

The Select Committee was tasked with investigating the experience of children and adults in accessing and affording dental and related services, the adequacy and availability of public dental services in Australia as well as pathways to improve oral health outcomes in Australia, among other topics.

Professor Sloan, who was also recently named as the Chair of the Australasian Council for Dental Schools (ACODS), said the wait lists for care in Victoria’s public oral health sector exceed 2.5 years.

“This means that patients seek out GPs and hospital emergency departments, often in desperation, without receiving the clinical care they may need to treat their disease.

“Everyone should have access to affordable dental services in this country,” Professor Sloan said.

Associate Professor Matt Hopcraft, who presented to the Select Committee, said it is vital that the Australian Government acts on this report.

“Poor oral health remains one of the strongest indicators of disadvantage in Australia, and the impacts are wide reaching.

“Cost continues to be a major barrier to accessing dental care, and until the government increases funding for dental services to similar levels as the rest of health, many Australians will continue to suffer poor oral health outcomes."

In their submission, experts from the Melbourne Dental School also called for:

• The introduction of a national Chief Dental Officer, as adopted in the United Kingdom, to bring together a coordinated plan across states and territories;
• Action to address the crisis in the dental clinical academic workforce; as at present recruitment of clinical academic staff to teach dental students is at an all time low, with low fractional appointments and challenges in some Institutions to fill vacant positions. This is an issue Professor Sloan is addressing through the establishment of an ACODS working group in 2024.
• A greater investment in clinical oral health education; and
• A greater investment into significantly under-funded dental and oral health research.

“Melbourne Dental School remains committed to meeting the challenges in oral healthcare provision through educating and training the future clinical workforce who are experienced in practicing care in regional areas and public clinics as set out in our curriculum, as well as undertaking highly impactful and translational research,” Professor Sloan said.