03 November 2022
Liberal boost to make Victorians smile
The Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB) welcomes the announcement today from Matthew Guy that the Liberal Party will invest additional funding, if elected, to support the ailing public dental system and prioritise the oral health of Victorians.
“Waiting times to access public dental care have surged from 20.3 months in 2018 to 26.7 months in June this year,” said ADAVB President A/Prof Warren Shnider. “These clinically unacceptable waiting times have a significant impact on the oral health of patients, which in turn compromises their general health.”
For too long the public dental sector has been ignored, with only about 220,000 of the 1.5 million eligible adults receiving basic dental care each year. And with long waiting times, there is no opportunity for routine appointments for necessary regular and ongoing care to prevent dental disease and improve oral health. The ADAVB and Victorian Oral Health Alliance have been calling for a major boost in public dental funding for more than four years, recognising that the system is in crisis.
“The pandemic lockdowns prevented people from seeing the dentist, and the oral health of Victorians is suffering as a result. We are calling on Labor, Greens, minor parties and independents to support this positive measure to improve oral health in Victoria,” said A/Prof Shnider.
More information is available at adavb.org/election.
