It’s a ‘load of rot’

By Ed Merrison
DENTAL health providers deny that Knox has rotting teeth services despite waiting list evidence to the contrary.
A new statewide campaign urges Ferntree Gully patients to have their voice heard if they believe higher than average waiting times are unacceptable.
Foothills patients face waits of 24.9 months for general treatment, which includes fillings, minor extractions and check ups, compared to a state average of 23.5 months.
The Victorian Oral Health Alliance (VOHA), a group of consumer, welfare and professional bodies, believes the times are not acceptable and is calling for greater Government funding is needed to reduce them.
VOHA, which is not aligned to a political party, has launched a website helping people to send messages to the health minister and local MPs to call for improved access to dental health services.
VOHA spokesman Dr Greg Morris, who is president of the Australian Dental Association Victoria Branch (ADAVB), said poorer communities such as Knox tended to be those waiting longest for treatment.
His group is calling for Government to pledge a further $83.8 million a year to bring state waiting times down to about 12 months.
Robyn Batten, chief executive of state-funded agency Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV), admitted waiting times were “not perfect”, but said providers were working to make sure they keep getting shorter.
Ms Batten said there was no hard evidence to suggest all people needed to see a dentist every 12 months, and praised the Government’s consistent increases in cash for public dentistry.
“Waitlists can’t be reduced with funding alone,” she said.
“To make inroads we need to address the workforce shortages, support public health initiatives such as the expansion of fluoridation, while actively encouraging the community to take on important everyday preventative behaviours.”
Anne Lyon, chief executive of Knox Community Health Service (KCHS), also defended the level of State funding but supported VOHA’s right to campaign for improvements.
“The Government has responded well to community needs and we will await further budget initiatives to address oral health issues in the community,” she said.
“There is a role for advocacy to raise issues for people with health concerns. It’s another mechanism for maintaining attention on this very important area of health.”
Ms Lyon said KCHS was designed to cater for the most disadvantaged members of the community, and said the waiting times should not cause undue concern.
There is no waiting list for children’s services and all patients with emergency conditions are assessed within 24 hours.
Most receive treatment within that time, according to Ms Batten.
Even so, Dr Morris said a 25-month waiting period for adults was too long.