Children in Regional Australia Endure Long Waits for Dental Care

AUSTRALIA: Children in regional Australia are facing prolonged periods of pain as they wait for urgent dental care, with some families forced to travel vast distances for treatment. In a report published by ABC News, James Taylor details the case of Mia van Leeuwen, a four-year-old from Biloela in central Queensland, who waited three months for dental crowns. During this time, she was unable to eat solid food or even brush her teeth without experiencing intense pain.

Her mother, Nakita van Leeuwen, recounted the difficulty her daughter faced: “It was either fix the problem ourselves or potentially Mia lose teeth, which we didn’t want… to happen.” Nakita and her family ultimately had to travel 400 kilometres to Hervey Bay for the procedure, paying over $5,000 out of pocket, since they were unable to access private health insurance or assistance from the Child Dental Benefit Scheme (CDBS).

Challenges in Regional Dental Care Access

The van Leeuwen family’s ordeal is not an isolated incident, as children in regional areas often endure lengthy delays for dental care due to the limited availability of paediatric dentists and the complexities of dental procedures requiring general anaesthesia. According to the article, the private hospitals closest to Mia’s home in Rockhampton have ceased offering dental procedures, leaving families in the region to either face long public hospital waiting lists or bear the full cost of private treatment. Nakita expressed frustration with the lack of accessible dental care, stating, “I believe that dentistry should be funded in some way because for many people, it’s out of reach.”

Paediatric dentist Dr Tim Keys, who treated Mia, noted that her situation is “quite a common occurrence” in his practice. His clinic, based on the Sunshine Coast, regularly sees patients from remote areas such as Darwin and Cairns. “At least weekly, we’ll see a patient that will travel more than six hours to access us,” he said, adding that the demand for urgent dental treatment appears to be increasing. In some Queensland health districts, waiting periods in the public system can stretch into multiple years.

Strain on Private and Public Health Systems

According to Dr Nicky Kilpatrick, former president of the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (AAPD), private hospitals are increasingly cutting dental procedures from their operating lists in favour of more profitable surgeries, such as orthopaedics. This, in turn, places a significant burden on the public health system, which struggles to meet the overwhelming demand. Kilpatrick explained that children are particularly disadvantaged, as many require dental treatment under general anaesthesia, which is difficult to obtain through public services.

While the CDBS provides some financial relief for low-income families, it does not cover procedures involving general anaesthesia in hospitals. The government’s decision not to extend the CDBS to cover these procedures has drawn criticism from dental professionals, including Dr Keys, who called the decision a “complete and utter dismissal” of the issue. A Department of Health and Aged Care spokesperson revealed that the government is seeking advice on the feasibility of including general anaesthesia under the CDBS, with a report expected by the end of 2024.

Financial Burdens and Systemic Challenges

The financial strain on families seeking dental care has been compounded by issues within the private healthcare system. According to Jane Griffiths, CEO of Day Hospitals Australia, only a small percentage of private hospitals continue to offer dental procedures. Those that do often operate at a loss due to the health insurance funding model, which applies a single rebate code to all dental procedures performed under general anaesthesia, regardless of their complexity. “A procedure that might take five minutes… compared to one that could take four or five hours, they’re paid exactly the same,” Griffiths explained, adding that this makes longer, more complex procedures financially unviable for hospitals.

Ben Harris, director of policy and research at Private Healthcare Australia, argued that clinicians’ fees are a key driver of the high costs patients face. He stated that many hospitals choose not to enter into contracts with health funds, which leads to higher out-of-pocket costs for families. “Doctors and dentists can elect to accept health fund rebates or elect to charge out-of-pocket costs,” Harris said, placing some of the responsibility on hospitals for failing to contain these costs.

A Call for Change

The case of Mia van Leeuwen illustrates a broader issue in Australia’s healthcare system, where access to timely and affordable dental care is far from guaranteed, particularly for those in regional areas. As public waitlists grow and private hospitals withdraw services, families are increasingly forced to travel long distances and pay significant sums out of pocket to alleviate their children’s pain. With professionals like Dr Keys highlighting the growing demand for urgent dental care, it remains to be seen whether government reforms will address the pressing need for improved access to dental services across the country.

This report, originally published by ABC News on September 13, 2024, sheds light on the urgent and widespread challenges facing Australian families when it comes to dental healthcare.