Why Older Australians Are Waiting Years For Vital Dental Care

Have you ever felt or suspected that you are on the scrapheap? Well, this all too common fear of the elderly is not too far from the truth in many instances. Why older Australians are waiting years for vital dental care? We live in a youth obsessed culture and have done so for a long time. Younger folk rule the roost in our work and recreational environments. Sure, the bosses at the very top might be oldies but most levels down are populated with the determined youngish and middle aged. The financialisation of everything has seen taking care of our aged parents outsourced to private sector facilities and their care workforces. Out of sight is out of mind for many, especially when it comes to things like dental care for the elderly.

Elderly Aussies On Lengthy Waiting Lists For Important Dental Care

Older folk learn not to complain about stuff, it is all part of ageing really – putting up with things as life doesn’t quite turn out the way you wanted. This may be the natural way of things but can, also, exacerbate situations by hiding critical issues like poor health and dental problems. It is a fact of life that young people want things to be more perfect for them. Parents look out for their children’s wellbeing but it takes quite a while for the reverse to happen and some kids never feel that inclination. Society defines how different demographics are treated.

Free Dental Care For Kids But What About Oldies?

In Australia, we provide free dental care for children in many states and a national program as well.

“The CDBS was established in 2014 as a national, means-tested, program. It provides eligible children aged 0–17 years with a capped benefit for basic dental services. The CDBS is administered under the Dental Benefits Act 2008 and the Dental Benefit Rules 2014.”
– Health.gov.au

This is important because oral health impacts lives and getting kids off to a good start establishes the foundation for better health and positive habits going forward. We are a wealthy nation, however, and we can afford better dental care programs for older Australians as well. We need to do away with the unconscious scrapheap attitude toward the elderly in need and start making a positive difference to their lives through subsidised dental care. The reality is that older folk have far more problems with their oral health and in many cases desperately need dental care solutions. In democracies, special interest groups achieve what they want through lobbying, influence, and determined awareness raising campaigns. It is time for the voices of older Australians in pain at their poor oral health to get heard.

“The Australian Dental Association is calling for a federally funded scheme for seniors, with some facing waits of up to four years for care. The seniors’ dental benefit schedule would operate similarly to the existing children’s schedule, with eligible pension and health card holders entitled to more than $1000 worth of Medicare subsidised dental care every two years. The association’s annual oral health survey found only 31 per cent of people were going for regular check-ups.”
– The Senior

Australia Has World Class Dentists

Dentists in Australia do a great job, with the standards of dentistry in this country top quality globally, and it is time that more of us get to enjoy that. Why should older Aussies suffer in silence when governments are wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on submarines that do not exist for a war which may well never eventuate. This is the stupidity of life in a 21C Australia. The very real loss of quality of life from severe teeth and gum disease issues plagues way too many senior citizens – many of whom made this country what it is today. Rather than merely getting all sanctimonious about ANZAC day memorials – let us actually do something profound and pragmatic to improve the lives of our elderly in the here and now. Celebrating the sacrifices of those who fought for the nation is a worthy thing to do but it is not enough to just honour the dead. Let us make positive change in the lives of the living.

Dentists Promoting The Public Good

The public good is a concept which once enjoyed far more respect and support among our people. A renewed focus on communities rather than the private wealth opportunities of individuals is called for in the face of the cost of living and housing crises we currently face. The explosion of billionaires is not a good thing, as it bespeaks of growing inequality among our citizens. Celebrating doing more for those with less is what we should be encouraging among younger generations of Australians. Many dentists wish to do more for the needy among us. They are looking for a public framework for this to happen within our society and communities. Reducing the suffering of the elderly by improving their oral health will go along way to making their lives better for longer when it really matters.

Correlation Revealed Between Dementia & Poor Oral Health

The recent studies into ageing and cognitive decline have found that there is a direct correlation between gum disease and tooth loss and cognitive decline and dementia. These things are not only personal and family tragedies they cost the nation economically billions of dollars.

“A recent systematic review revealed findings that periodontal disease is associated with cognitive impairment and a higher risk of incident dementia. Several reports revealed that having fewer teeth is associated with an increased risk of incident dementia, but this association is primarily observed in individuals who do not use dentures. Tooth loss is also a risk factor for the development of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in an older Japanese population, as indicated by cross-sectional studies revealing that significant relationships were found between the number of remaining teeth, the length of the edentulous period, and cognitive function. Namely, tooth loss is reliably associated with cognitive dysfunction and increased risk of dementia. “
– Nature.com

If we are going to encourage our citizens to live longer, then, we need to ensure that their health and wellbeing are properly looked after for the duration. At the moment we are not delivering on this. We have witnessed a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety following the deathly debacles around Covid in aged care facilities and the more prosaic challenges of caring for the elderly in these largely ‘for profit’ facilities more generally. The Albanese federal government has incrementally increased wages for the care sector, albeit in a high inflationary economic period. You cannot provide quality care if you are not willing to pay for it and are more concerned about returns to shareholders over the interests of the residents and their families. Australians have to ask themselves what they value, especially as all those middle aged folk are headed to these same facilities if nothing much changes.

“The Royal Commission found aged care residents had been admitted to hospital with aspiration pneumonia, a disease that can be prevented with proper dental cleaning.
Other residents are living with abscesses in their mouths, ongoing chronic pain, and an inability to eat good foods.”
– Rowan Cowley, 17 Oct 2024, The Senior

Why are older Australians waiting years for vital dental care? Neglect, penny pinching, different stake holders ducking their responsibilities, and the inability of many individuals to afford to pay for it. Will we grow up enough as a nation to value the public good over the indulgence of the accumulation of excessive private wealth? Perhaps, not in my lifetime!

Note: All content and media on the  Diggers Rest Dental House website and social media channels are created and published online for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.