Cost of living impacts Australians' access to dental care

ABC NEWS (Australia)

As the cost of living continues to bite many Australians can't afford to see a dentist. That can have profound impacts, causing excruciating pain an inability to eat properly and knock-on health conditions.

Transcript

00:00 Each week, hundreds of people gather for help from a charity started by Mark McDonald.

00:13 It's a cruel irony that a man who devotes his life to feeding others doesn't have enough

00:18 teeth to eat properly.

00:20 Virtually since 2019 I've been eating a soft mush diet.

00:25 Five years ago, the 61-year-old had radiotherapy for skin cancer.

00:30 It damaged his salivary glands and his teeth started to rot.

00:35 A retired nurse, he couldn't afford to pay $10,000 for treatment.

00:41 The pain was intense, your breath stunk.

00:44 You were cautious about talking to people because you were worried about overcoming

00:49 them with really bad breath.

00:51 He eventually had all but seven of his teeth removed.

00:55 His hollow cheeks are a sign of the 25 kilos he's lost.

01:01 There's no pleasure in eating.

01:03 It's a job you have to do.

01:05 Some Australians, including Mark, can get free public dental care in state-run clinics

01:10 and hospitals, usually if they have a concession card.

01:15 But waiting lists are jammed.

01:16 Even if you've been waiting, you know, several years, well, you're still not the high priority

01:23 for them.

01:24 How are you?

01:25 Associate Professor Ritilal Laloo has been tracking the wait for free care in Queensland

01:30 for almost a decade.

01:32 The people who need to be seen more quickly are not being seen on time.

01:37 Long public waiting lists are seen across the country.

01:41 But most Australians aren't eligible for free care.

01:45 And one in six adults delay or avoid seeing a dentist because of the cost.

01:51 Medical barriers are so significant that people make the choice of suffering through their

01:56 problems and not having them fixed, which I think is extremely unfortunate and sad that

02:01 people have to make those choices.

02:03 Shockingly, one in 25 people aged 15 and over have no natural teeth.

02:09 Poor oral health is also associated with other chronic conditions.

02:14 There's so many other costs involved in life at the moment, so dental work comes lower

02:19 down the list.

02:20 Nothing, there's nothing you can do.

02:21 You can go on a waiting list or grin and bear it.

02:25 Jordan Steele-John is chairing a Senate committee into oral health care.

02:30 What we have in Australia is a system in decay, a dental health system that does not work

02:37 for the community.

02:39 The Greens have long pushed to include dental in Medicare, which they say would cost about

02:45 $77 billion over a decade.

02:49 Successive governments have balked at the price tag of universal care.

02:54 The current one says it acknowledges there are barriers to accessing affordable dental

02:59 services and it's committed to the long-term goal of expanding Medicare.

03:05 The Australian Dental Association wants more public funding for vulnerable groups.

03:11 By targeting those socio-economic demographics that need it most, like those in aged care,

03:17 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and those with low incomes, we could assist in

03:23 turning around the burden of Australia's oral disease.

03:26 After much lobbying and almost two years of waiting, Mark has now had bone grafts in his

03:33 jaw.

03:34 He'll go back on a waiting list for more treatment and still can't eat much.

03:39 I wouldn't mind a steak.

03:40 It's been years since I've had a steak.

03:42 Yeah.

03:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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