Too many dentists - report confirms ADA claims

There are too many dentists in Australia, and the number of dental hygienists and oral health therapists are also expected to exceed demand.

These are the findings of the Federal Government report, Health Workforce 2025 - Oral Health.

Using population projections, the training of oral health personnel and the intake of foreign trained dentists, the Department of Health report uses seven scenarios. Each comes to the same conclusion: the supply of the dental workforce is projected to exceed demand.

The findings confirm what the Australian Dental Association, supported by ADAVB, has been saying for some time.

Commenting on the report, ADA President Dr Rick Olive said: “Australia has clearly reached self-sufficiency in its supply of dentists. Given the investment that is made by the Australian Government and individuals to educate a dentist, every effort must now be made by government to ensure that Australian graduates have jobs at the end of their program of study”.