27 March 2024
Government continues to ignore community oral health
Victorian dentists are fuming at once again being ignored by the state government.
The newly released Victorian Health Workforce strategy (released 13 February 2024) has completely disregarded the oral health of Victorians by the total exclusion of the dental workforce from this strategy.
There is a public dental workforce crisis in Victoria exacerbated by the significant wage gap as compared to other states, complex patient needs and a lack of incentives to work in the public sector.
The Victorian Government Action Plan to Prevent Oral Disease 2020 - 2030 cannot be achieved without a robust workforce strategy to address the needs of Victorians who depend on the public sector for dental care.
The ADAVB calls on the Victorian government to attend to the broken public dental system that is leaving tens of thousands of Victorians unable to access care.
Media enquiries
Interviews are available with ADAVB President Dr Jonathan Teoh.
Key Statistics
- Victorian public sector dentists are paid up to 33% less than their counterparts interstate to do the same job.
- Victoria has the lowest number of public sector dentists per population in Australia.
- Victorians in need of public care can wait up to 41 months (3.4 years) to see a dentist (Source references available).
Contact Sian Reeder, Marketing and Communications Manager
comms@adavb.org
Tel: 8825 4600 or 0420 462 030
