00:00So while some oral prosthetics and the cost of bidding them are covered by public or private
00:07funding, typically there are no subsidies for a critical part of the process, replacement teeth.
00:13Now, Professor Jonathan Clark, who's the Director of Head and Neck Research at Chris O'Brien
00:18Lifehouse, says as a result he's witnessed cancer patients left with an unthinkable choice,
00:24whether to remortgage their house or drain their super to pay for dental prosthetics,
00:29often needed after major mouth cancer surgery or to go without them. Take a listen.
00:35If we're talking about a breast prosthetic that's needed to be placed because of a woman having
00:41breast cancer, well then that's covered. But if you've had your jaw removed and you've lost your
00:48teeth, for some reason that's not covered. And I don't really have a good explanation for why there
00:55is this divide. But I think it really isn't fair that there is this inequity.
01:01So for this story, 7.30 spoke to 73-year-old John Mealings. More than two years ago,
01:08he had a 12-hour surgery to remove his stage 4 oral cancer. As part of that surgery, his jaw was
01:15reconstructed and he had to have some teeth removed. But now, having survived cancer, he's now facing
01:21another financial ordeal. He has to potentially pay $20,000 for replacement dental prosthetics.
01:29Take a listen.
01:31I'll have to dip into my superannuation. But at my stage of life, at least I have some super
01:37that I can dip into. But I feel particularly sorry for people who may be at a much younger
01:45age and who have the same issue, to stump up a lot of money like that.
01:50And Steph, what's this 3D printing solution?
01:54So doctors believe that one short-term fix might lie in 3D printing technology. At Chris O'Brien
02:01Lifehouse, 3D printing machines are used to turn resin into teeth, creating what doctors call a jaw
02:07in a day. These jaw in a day prosthetics aren't durable enough to be a permanent solution, but they
02:13are a short-term solution. John Mealings has had his for over two years. And what they mean is that
02:18they save patients thousands of dollars and also mean they can wake up from major surgery with teeth.
02:24They can be fitted in that initial cancer remover surgery. Now, Professor Jonathan Clark says very
02:30few hospitals offer this. Lifehouse currently does the bulk of them and it's backed by philanthropic
02:35funds. So he's calling for state and federal government support so that more patients can access these
02:41life-changing prosthetics. Take a listen.
02:44It's a bit like having a car where you build all of the components from scratch and every part of
02:52it, the patient has it covered, except for the wheels and the tyres. You can't drive a car with no tyres
02:59and you can't restore form and function after mouth surgery without teeth.
03:03In a statement, a federal government spokesperson said it was waiting for federal health department
03:09advice on an independent review examining the gaps in coverage for prostheses and also how to address
03:16them. While a New South Wales health spokesperson said accessible and affordable dental care was a
03:21whole of sector responsibility.
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