Dental conditions a frequent cause of hospital admissions

The Victorian Minister for Health, The Hon Bronwyn Pike, has released a comprehensive snapshot of Victorians' health, called Your Health. This publication details what makes Victorians "stronger, sicker, healthier and happier".

One of the key indicators highlighted is the Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) data, which details reasons for hospital admissions on a regional and Statewide basis.

It is noteworthy that dental conditions are second only to diabetes complications on a Statewide basis as a cause of ACSC hospital admissions, and that in some regions dental conditions rate much higher than the State average. This is particularly so for the Grampians, Barwon, Northern Mallee, and East Gippsland regions, suggesting that people in rural communities who are facing lengthy delays in access to basic dental care, are needing more hospital care as their conditions deteriorate. Obviously a higher priority needs to be placed on early treatment to avoid the pain and cost of hospitalisation.