Geelong region records some of the shortest public dental wait times in state
Barwon Health topped the state for shortest dental wait times, while the west has fallen behind.
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The Geelong region has some of the shortest public dental wait times in Victoria, according to new data.
The Australian Dental Association Victoria Branch (ADAVB) figures for the 2022-23 financial year revealed that Barwon Health offered the equal best dental wait times in the state, with patients only waiting 2.8 months on average.
Bellarine Community Health’s (BCH) average wait time came in at 9.8 months, far lower than the state average of 16.9 months.
These results are a major drop off from the same time last year, when Barwon Health times were at 12.9 months, while BCH times were at 22.9.
This is part of a downward trend in the region occurring since the area had some of the longest wait times in the 2020/21 financial year, when Barwon Health wait times were at 22.1 months, while BCH times rose to a whopping 30.6.
Barwon Health’s director of oral health services, Associate Professor Michael Smith, said the rapid decline in wait times wouldn’t have been possible without assistance from the state government.
“Last year the Victorian Government provided additional statewide funding to assist with the public dental wait lists, where adult patients were offered vouchers to receive treatment in private dental and denture clinics,” Prof Smith said.
“The outcome of this is testament to the close working relationship Barwon Health has with healthcare providers.
“Overall, there has been significant improvement in the oral health status of our patients in the past 10 years.
“There has been a significant reduction in decayed, missing and filled teeth of children and an increase in children with no experience of dental decay.”
Barwon Health’s wait times are only matched by Peninsula Health across the bay.
ADAVB President Dr Jonathan Teoh said further government funding was necessary to ensure wait times throughout Victoria don’t balloon out again.
“We were pleased that our advocacy saw the government provide $27 million last year to target a waiting list that had blown out to 26.7 months and more than 151,000 people,” Dr Teoh said.
“But we warned that once funding returned to normal levels that waiting times would increase.”
While the overall Victorian average dropped from the 2021/22 financial year, further to the state’s west, the situation is far more grim, Victorians in the electorates of Lowan, Polwarth and South-West Coast all seeing average wait times of more than three years.
This is part of a larger Dentist shortage in rural Victoria that Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) President Dr Megan Belot described as a “perfect storm.”
“Rural and remote Australians already tend to have poorer diets than their urban counterparts, as well as higher rates of smoking and alcohol consumption, and poorer oral healthcare.
“The cost of dental care for those on lower average incomes – and difficulties accessing a dentist in many rural communities – are also significant impediments for rural and remote Australians in seeking the dental care they need.”
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Originally published as Geelong region records some of the shortest public dental wait times in state
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