Govt rules out restoring dental funding

The Age - February 15, 2005

The federal government has ruled out reinstating funding for public dental care amid reports of patients in NSW waiting up to eight years for treatment.

The federal government has ruled out reinstating funding for public dental care amid reports of patients in NSW waiting up to eight years for treatment.

Health Minister Tony Abbott said the government was unlikely to restore the dental health care program it abolished in January 1997.

Dental health statistics had worsened since the government withdrew funding after the 1996 election, but Mr Abbott said it was up to the states to address problems.

A newspaper investigation revealed patients in NSW were waiting up to eight years for attention while the number of children needing hospital treatment had doubled over the past decade.

There were only about 240 public dentists to cater for more than 2.5 million health-card holders, children and the elderly, while there were more than 3,000 private dentists available to treat the rest of the state's population, the report found.

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