Millions of Australians skipping dental care due to cost as dentists lobby for national plan

Emily Novo was brushing her teeth before bed when she felt a slight pain above one of her wisdom teeth.

She woke up the next day and could not open her mouth.

"I couldn't even open it enough to brush my teeth, let alone eat a piece of toast," the Sydney student said.

She went to her general practitioner who could not get access to her mouth and sent her to a hospital emergency department.

Ms Novo was stressed about the health implications, and as a student she feared what it might cost.

"From a cost point of view, it was really, really daunting," she said.

"Because of my age ... they decided to go against any X-rays or putting me under any sort of radiation, and they felt comfortable enough to send me home with some hardcore antibiotics."

Fortunately for Ms Novo, the antibiotics eventually worked. But she was unable to open her mouth properly for a week.

"I was just eating soup all week, I couldn't eat properly, I couldn't talk properly," she said.

Ms Novo said she generally had good oral health, but the issue came from bacteria getting into the cavity between her wisdom tooth and gum.

She said she had put off going to the dentist because of the cost, but the incident had been a wake-up call.

"So in hindsight, I really should have prioritised my … dental hygiene," she said.

Millions skipping dentist

According to an Australian Dental Association (ADA) survey, more than 2 million Australians have skipped dental care due to unaffordability.

ADA vice president Angie Nilsson said that had resulted in widespread tooth decay.

"The issue that we've got is if people aren't going to a dentist early, it ends up becoming more expensive, more painful, they have to take more time off work," she said.

More than 40 dentists from around the country have gathered in Canberra this week to alert politicians to the nation's dental problems.

Dr Nilsson said other issues included a lack of access to dentistry in regional areas, and young people following bad dental advice.

"60 per cent of 18 to 25-year-olds are making decisions based on social media, and that can lead to use of bleaching that can be unhealthy for them, can damage their teeth," she said.

Where's the promised plan?

Dentists said the solution was to implement a national plan.

Consultations took place with dentists in 2024 for the National Oral Health Plan 2025 to 2034, which was due to be put to a health ministers' meeting that year.

However, the ADA said the federal government had since delayed the plan's release.

"The National Oral Health Plan is giving us that framework to be able to say, 'Okay, well here is the problem, we know what the problem is, we need to be able to co-design these solutions so that we can improve the oral health of all Australians,'" Dr Nilsson said.

ADA president Chris Sanzaro said oral health could no longer be separate to mainstream health policy.

"A National Oral Health Plan is not a luxury; it is essential to giving Australians the access to care they deserve."