Top Qld dentist labels system ‘barbaric’ as children teeth left to rot

Queensland families are floundering on an 18-month waitlist to see a dentist while their children are left with agonising abscesses and rotting teeth.

Dentist Tim Keys has raised major concerns with the Queensland dental system.

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Queensland has a third world dental service as hundreds of children are “barbarically” left floundering on an 18-month waitlist with multiple oozing abscesses and teeth rotting to the roots, a top pediatric dentist claims.

And as the demand and waiting lists for pediatric dental treatment under anaesthetic blow out, a peak dentistry body is calling for Queensland Health to publish transparent data that shows desperate parents how long children have to wait for an appointment.

“Currently adult and children cases are lumped together under government wait list data so no one can see the true picture of the pediatric crisis in the state. Parents are left in the dark as to when it might be their turn,” Tim Keys, Chair Advocacy and Policy Committee of the Australasian Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, said.

There are 3516 adults and children in the state waiting for treatment under anaesthetic.

“Children need anaesthetic more often than adults as you can’t pull six teeth out of a four year old in the chair,” Dr Keys said.

Dr Keys said parents were being left in the dark.

“Also, all pediatric appointments must be classified as category one or two. If a child is required to go under for dental work it is very serious and should never be labelled a Cat 3.”

Dr Keys, who is working with the government to improve dental services for children, told The Courier-Mail that while children are waiting as much as 18 months for dental surgery, they suffer sleepless nights, pain-induced behavioural issues and general malaise.

“If a child had a big abscess on their arm they wouldn’t be left to suffer,” he said.

The dentist works across the state both in the private and public sector. He is located on the Sunshine Coast and in Hervey Bay and is the most northern pediatric dentist in Australia.

“I have to speak up about the state of dental services for children. Things must change,” he said.

Dr Keys revealed public and private hospital funding for dental procedures under anaesthetic is totally inadequate.

“I see at least one child a week that needs to be sent to the emergency department as their face is so swollen with abscesses. The child may end up back in ED several times. That doesn’t seem like a sensible way to run things. It’s barbaric,” he said.

Dr Keys said funding was totally inadequate.

As a dentist on the frontline who travels across the state, Dr Keys reports that he sees an astronomical increase in the number of rotting teeth and severity of the decay in regions above Gympie where there is less water fluoridation.

“Water fluoridation across the state is one of the best ways to start tackling this crisis,” Dr Keys said.

Chief Dental Officer Ben Stute reports that almost half of Queensland children requiring dental treatment under general anaesthetic in a public hospital are seen within clinically recommended times.

“Like all jurisdictions, we face challenges in delivering dental treatment for children in hospital due to a range of factors, including workforce shortages,” he said.

“We know there is more to do to help children improve their oral health, which is why we are implementing our Statewide Oral Health Services Plan focusing on preventive oral health measures and building the capacity of public dental services.”

Originally published as Top Qld dentist labels system ‘barbaric’ as children teeth left to rot