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CANBERRA, Australia: According to the latest figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), a considerable number of Australians delayed visits to the dentist or did not see a dental practitioner at all in the last 12 months. Cost was among the primary reasons, the organisation stated.
In particular, the data published in the 2013 “Patient Experiences in Australia” report showed that almost one in five (18 per cent) Australians aged 15 and over who needed to see a dental professional delayed seeing or did not see a dentist owing to cost. According to the Bureau, the number increased in the 25–34 age group in particular (27 per cent).
Overall, the investigators found that less than half (49 per cent) of Australians aged 15 and over had visited a dental professional in the last 12 months, only 57 per cent of whom had had two or more visits.
According to the ABS Director of Health Statistics, Louise Gates, “People living in areas of greatest socio-economic disadvantage were twice as likely to delay going or not to go to a dental professional owing to cost (24 per cent), compared with people living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage (12 per cent).”
“People living in outer regional or remote areas of Australia were also more likely to delay going or not to go to a dentist owing to cost (21 per cent) compared with those living in major cities (17 per cent),” she said.
The full report, titled “Patient experiences in Australia: Summary of findings, 2012–13”, which contains data on access and barriers to a range of health-care services, including general practitioners, medical specialists, dental professionals, imaging and pathology tests, hospital admissions and emergency department visits, can be downloaded from ABS’s website.
