Putting the mouth back into the body

How can Australia’s future dental health system benefit more people? A new book, authored by Melbourne Dental School alumni, Dr Jamie Robertson (BA Hons OAM 1986, MA 1989, MPH 2009) and Dr John Rogers (PhD 2017), highlights the importance of planning and delivering a more equitable dental health system.

Australia’s public dental system is a tattered safety net failing Australians on lower incomes, forcing them to face long years waiting for general care says Dr Rogers.

“Governments pay around two-thirds of other healthcare costs, mostly through Medicare, but they cover only 20 per cent of dental costs. While out-of-pocket expenses for general health costs are around a third of the total, out-of-pocket costs for dental are 80 per cent. It’s as though the mouth has been left out of the body.”

Looking Back Looking Forward was supported by the 2020 Dental Alumni Research Foundation Scholarship, Melbourne Dental School and the Victorian Branch of the Australian Dental Association. Referencing the World Health Organization 2022 global oral health strategy, the book recommends a greater focus on prevention and promotion.

“Prevention is less expensive in the longer term and is better for quality of life. Extending water fluoridation, introducing a national sugar beverages levy and creating programs that support improved nutrition and dental hygiene are potential solutions,” says Dr Rogers.

Dr Rogers and Dr Robertson also recommend improving access to oral healthcare by significantly increasing ongoing national government funding for public dental care, and a phased integration of basic dental care into Medicare.

Integrating oral health into relevant policies and public health programs, and including oral health in the remit of the Australian Centre for Disease Control, are also important measures.

Looking at the workforce, Dr Robertson says Australia needs to regularly review the most effective mix of oral health professionals to meet community needs.

We have the technical capacity for amazing treatments to restore oral health, but we need to concentrate more on preventive measures — we don’t produce enough people who can prevent disease happening in the first place, such as oral health therapists and hygienists says Dr Robertson.

Improving oral health information systems that enhance surveillance and support evidence-based policy development, greater use of eHealth and regular oral health surveys to understand the state of Australia’s oral health are also important for the future. “There is a need for increased funding for oral health research — currently less than 1 per cent of National Health and Medical Research Council funding goes to oral health. Disease in the mouth impacts the whole body and so we need more research in this area,” says Dr Rogers.

Download your copy of Looking Back Looking Forward.