New Year welcome
Welcome to 2012 – I hope that everyone enjoyed a restful and enjoyable Festive Season and New Year break, and ... not too much extra exercise is required to combat the overindulgence that usually accompanies this time. Good food and good wine is often in abundance, and although Mick Jagger once said “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing”, and Mae West said “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful”, there is sometimes a price to pay in the New Year.

Helping the disadvantaged is the priority – not a universal dental scheme

Several weeks ago I replied to an opinion piece in The Sunday Age (8 January) by Dental Health Services Victoria CEO Dr Deborah Cole. Lamenting the poor state of the current public dental system, with waiting lists of more than two years, and the costs of visiting a private dentist, she called for a universal dental care system.
 
Although not published, I pointed out that the ADAVB has long argued and advocated for increased funding for the State’s public dental services. The dental care system in Australia is extremely good, with its combination of private and public service provision. About 65 to 70 per cent of the population do not report significant difficulties in accessing dental care. The main cause of concern is that the public sector has long been under-resourced, and this lack of funding has led to long waiting times and poor access to public health care. In 2010-11, 350,000 patients were treated in the Victorian public dental system, with around 1.5 million Victorians eligible for public dental services, it is easy to see why there are such long waiting lists. The 2011 State Budget did not have any growth funding for dentistry, and funding for dental services was only increased by $2.2 million from $164.9 million to $167.1 million, a mere increase of 1.3 per cent despite inflation running at 3.3 per cent.
 
The most recent calls for a universal dental scheme are suggesting a cost of about $9 billion over four years, likely to be funded by an increase in the Medicare levy. This level of funding could not provide a universal dental scheme at the current standards of care.
 
This is not a time for revolution in public dentistry, but rather one for evolution. I believe that we should look at where the problems are with the current system and work out ways of improving it, rather than attempting to create a new system. The Commonwealth Dental Health Program that ran during 1994-96 demonstrated that significantly increasing public investment in dental services had a positive impact on public waiting lists and the number of people able to access dental care. Focussing financial assistance to needy Australians is where attention is needed. Providing effective services to the disadvantaged is the priority - not universal services to all.
 
It is important that the Federal Government releases the interim report of the National Advisory Council on Dental Health, to promote discussion on this important topic, and ensure that an appropriate scheme is put in place to provide all Australians the best possible oral health.

This is particularly important as it has been suggested that the Council has recommended the development of the first stages of a universal dental scheme. This comes at the same time that the Government is trying to shut down the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme program, which has been the cause of considerable problems for many members throughout the nation. The Federal Government also plans to introduce a voluntary dental internship program for 150 new graduates to consolidate and expand their basic dental skills and improve community access to dental services.
Branch seeks additional funding for forensic dentistry unit.
 

Forensic Odontology Unit

Recent reports in the media focused on Victoria Police reopening an investigation into a 40 year old unsolved death mystery in Melbourne. In 1970, a man’s body was found on a walking track at the edge of the third tee at Ivanhoe Golf Course, with the cause of death suspected to be coronary artery disease myocardial degeneration. Police were unable to identify the man despite extensive searches of medical and dental records.

Although a successful outcome did not occur in this case, it does highlight again the importance of dental records in victim identification, and the amazing work of the Forensic Odontology Unit at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. The unit provides a 24-hour, seven days per week domestic on-call service for the State Coroner, Victoria Police, Missing Persons Unit, Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit, Homicide and Sexual Assault units, with two part-time and 10 sessional odontologists investigating about 240 cases annually, on a budget of only $135,000 a year.

In the age of whiz-bang technology and television shows such as CSI constantly extolling the virtues of DNA, it is easy to forget the important role of forensic odontology. Of the 173 people identified following the Black Saturday bushfires, 110 were identified primarily with forensic odontology expertise. Members of the unit identified victims of the Myrrhee plane crash (2004), Donald car crash (2006), Kerang train crash (2007), and the Burnley tunnel crash (2007). Internationally, the unit has been involved in investigations following the Bali terrorist bombings (2002), the Thai Tsunami (2004), Jogykarta airplane crash (2007) and other investigations in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Nepal.

As the work of this unit benefits the nation and provides expert support internationally, ADAVB does not want it to be financially handicapped. As a result, the Branch continues to advocate for increased funding and support for the Forensic Odontology Unit in order that they are able to continue their amazing work.