"Sadistic at worst" — ADA calls for dental funding

To avoid needless hospital admissions, the Australian Dental Association (ADA) is calling on the next federal government to fund a Seniors Dental Benefits Schedule — up to specified limits for holders of Commonwealth seniors’ health cards, pensioner concession cards and health care cards who are 65 years or older. So that problems can be identified earlier, the ADA is also calling for the inclusion of an oral health component to GP check-ups of over 75s.

The call comes as the ADA reveals key findings from ADA research and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, which reveals that 16,000 seniors were admitted to hospital for urgent treatment of painful dental issues in 2022–23; a figure that is expected to rise to 22,630 by 2027–28, representing a 42% increase from what ADA calls “an already unacceptable level”.

“It’s a health trend that worsens by the year,” ADA President Dr Chris Sanzaro said, “and while governments of all persuasions deny that the mouth is connected to the rest of the body and oral health doesn’t need additional funding, this shocking treatment of our most vulnerable at the hand of politicians is only going to worsen.”

Sanzaro added: “We wouldn’t treat our kids or even our pets like this — so why is it okay to wilfully ignore the mouths of seniors and other vulnerable Australians? The ADA finds it baffling at best and sadistic at worst.”

Key findings from the data reveal that potentially preventable dental hospitalisations for Australians aged 65+ increased from 10,495 in 2016–17 to 15,959 in 2022–23. Based on the 7.24%-a-year increase across that period, the ADA projected that hospitalisations would reach 22,630 by 2027–28 — a 42% increase (from 2022–23 to 2027–28).

“Potentially preventable hospitalisations like these represent not only a burden on our healthcare system but also reduced quality of life for our aging population,” Sanzaro said. “We should prioritise access to regular dental check-ups and preventative treatments to reverse this trend.”

The ADA also noted that the “grim picture” is replicated at state levels. In New South Wales, there were 3721 potentially preventable hospitalisations of seniors for dental conditions in 2021–22, according to the ADA.

The ADA did acknowledge that data is harder to access — or non-existent — in other states; save for Queensland, where there are 207 over-65s per 1000 people (or around one in five from that age cohort) hospitalised every year for a dental condition.

In the context of the data and funding call for the next federal government, older people advocacy organisation COTA Australia’s CEO Patricia Sparrow said: “The Australian Dental Association’s new statistics highlight what we’ve known for a long time — that a lack of affordable dental and oral care is leading to disastrous health outcomes for too many older Australians.”

Sparrow added: “Every day our governments delay action on providing affordable dental care for those who need it most, more and more older people are falling ill and being forced into our hospital system unnecessarily. That’s not good for anyone.”

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