Ways to improve the oral health of Victorians

The Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch has made a pre-Budget submission to the State Government encouraging focus on four areas of oral health need.

The Branch urges:
• Consultation and planning forum to improve the delivery of oral health care services to Victoria’s ageing population - a discussion and planning forum be held to consult relevant stakeholders on the best strategies to deliver oral health care to people living in residential aged care facilities and supported in-home care.
• Refurbishment and expansion of existing public dental clinics to meet increasing demand for services - refurbish and expand existing clinics, which will improve their ability to achieve maximum efficiency and meet the growing need.
• Creation of new public dental care clinics in locations experiencing rapid population expansion with limited local access to public dental care
• Capital planning to facilitate targeted re-development and expansion of public dental infrastructure - a Public Dental Infrastructure plan be developed to schedule maintenance and expansion of existing clinics and creation of new clinics.

During this election year ADAVB will meet with the parties to brief them on the oral health needs of Victorians.