Dental care to improve – that’s the tooth

ADULTS across the Balranald region will be able to see a public dentist closer to home, thanks to a new agreement between Far West Local Health District and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The agreement will see a dentist from the RFDS attend public dental clinics in Balranald and Buronga, with eligible NSW residents able to make bookings.

Over the last two years, RFDS NSW/ACT have conducted more than 3,700 dental patient visits across their operational area.

A Far West Local Health District spokesperson said adults must be eligible to receive public dental services before they could make an appointment.

“Adult NSW residents must be eligible for Medicare and be listed on one of the following Australian Government concession cards, Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card,” they said.

All children under the age of 18 who are eligible for Medicare can access public dental services across the state, while the region’s childhood dental services remain unchanged.

Far West Local Health will continue to operate their mobile dental van in the region to provide dental health services to the region’s young people.

In their annual Best for the Bush Rural and Remote Base Line report released this month, RFDS listed oral health as one of the main health issues that disproportionately impact rural Australians.

They stated that oral health declines as remoteness increases, and that people in rural or remote Australia are likely to have poorer oral health than those in major cities.

Reasons for this impact include regional Australian’s having poorer access to dental service, experiencing longer travel times and having limited transport options to oral health services.

More than 118,000 people across rural and regional Australia were living without access to general dental health services.

Poor oral health was also closely associated with increased risks of a range of chronic diseases and health problems, including heart disease, oral cancers, type 2 diabetes, stroke, lung disease, and poor pregnancy outcomes.

The report suggested that a reasonable measure of access should be, that “people should be able to access health services within a 60-minute drive time.”

RFDS Federation executive director Frank Quinlan said that “rural and remote communities, need rural and remote solutions”.

“We need to deploy creative models of integrated, multi-disciplinary team based primary care for people living outside the reach of mainstream services,” he said.

“Working alongside government, service partners and communities, this report is continuation of the RFDS’ long-term commitment to delivering evidence-based healthcare in regional, rural and remote Australia.

With the announcement coinciding with Oral Health Week, Far West Local Health District said it had been pleased with the opportunity.

“The Far West LHD is pleased to be working collaboratively with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to deliver this high-quality service,” the spokesperson said.

“To book an appointment, patients can call the contact centre on 1300 552 626, where they will be triaged and scheduled for an appointment according to their need.

“Clinics are scheduled in line with the number of patients waiting for care.”