Advocacy: Provision and access to dental services in Australia
It was an honour and privilege to speak with the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Honourable Mark Butler MP, regarding the final report from the Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia. There were numerous recommendations in the report related to the needs of the patients of whom I and my fellow Specialists in Special Needs Dentistry provide care for, including oral healthcare for people with Head and Neck cancer, the oral health recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care, access to sedation for people with disability, and addressing workforce shortages including initiatives for upskilling and training of the dental profession to care for people with disabilities and complex needs. This represents the combined efforts of many different advocates, clinicians, patients, and their families – thank you to everyone who highlighed the ongoing importance of access to oral healthcare for marginalised groups in our community, especially for those who may not be in a position to speak up for themselves. Thank you to Minister Bulter, Nick Martin, and Rob Dabrowski for recognising the importance of this conversation, with access to oral healthcare affecting not only a person’s quality of life, but also, the length of a person’s life -especially for our elderly, people with intellectual disability and people with swallowing difficulties, who can die prematurely through a lung disease caused by inhalation of dental plaque #brushingteethsaveslives #oralhealthadvocacy #specialneedsdentistry
