Consultation with the Dental Profession required for dental benefits bill to deliver for children

Australian dentists cautiously welcomed the Australian Parliament's passage of the Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2012 (Bill), which allocates $2.7 billion for up to 3.4 million children to access dental services through Medicare.

"The Australian Dental Association Inc. (ADA) urges the Australian Government to work closely with the dental profession to develop the detail of this dental scheme for children so that appropriate dental care is provided as efficiently as possible," ADA President, Dr Karin Alexander said.

"There is now an opportunity for the Australian Government to ensure that the schedule of services available for children under the subordinate legislation is comprehensive, i.e. inclusive of all relevant preventive and therapeutic services.

"Treatment regimes must be flexible enough to allow for the clinician to provide treatment that is patient-focused and provides for long-term oral health solutions. The dental profession is best placed to advise on the type of services that should be offered."

The Minister for Health, the Hon. Tanya Plibersek indicated in her second reading of the Bill that the Department will consult with the profession.

"It is imperative that this new Scheme be well designed. The mistakes associated with the introduction of the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme must not be repeated, in particular, the administrative and reporting requirements that were not reflective of the model of service delivery within dentistry," Dr Alexander said.

"The ADA is ready to begin working with the Australian Government to ensure that this new dental scheme delivers for Australia's children."