New data from the Australian Dental Association’s annual oral health survey of 25,000 people also found that only one third (31 per cent) of people go for a regular check-up.
The survey found that 61 per cent of people delayed treatment in the last 12 months, which is a 17 per cent increase in the last 13 years.
Affordability accounted for 63 per cent of respondents’ reason for the delay, a 12 per cent increase on 2022.
“All the more reason that there needs to be help from the government for a greater number of Australians so they can get the regular dental treatment they so badly need and often can’t afford,” Australian Dental Association president Scott Davis said.
“This is particularly the case for seniors in residential aged care and our most vulnerable populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, those on low wages and people with a disability.
“If people saw their dentist regularly, they’d be less likely to face more complex treatment further down the track.
“Government-funded schemes for our most vulnerable populations would go a long way to making this a reality for millions of Australians for whom at the moment a dental visit isn’t a financial reality.”
Of those who’d seen a dentist for a check-up in the last 12 months, only seven per cent had been in the last six months, with 10 per cent in the last six to 12 months before that visit.
With so few trips to get oral health needs met, it is little wonder that one third (34 per cent) of people have suffered from tooth pain, gum pain, face swelling or infection in the last year, and those issues are more prevalent with seniors.
While almost half (42 per cent) had their problem treated, a quarter (23 per cent) did not, with cost as the predominant barrier.
A third of people (32 per cent) rated their oral health as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’, and over half of them were over 65.
One of the main reasons for the poor rating was that they admitted to ‘not visiting the dentist often enough’ or attributed it to alcohol, smoking, diet or an existing dental or medical condition.
“These statistics clearly demonstrate that there isn’t enough help for these vulnerable populations, which number in their millions,” Dr Davis said.
“The current system of government assistance for them is ailing with eligible people waiting years on public dental waiting lists just to have their first appointment, often enduring years of pain.
“There are hundreds of thousands of Australians suffering this way.”
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