Author Archives: VOHA

MEDIA RELEASE The Victorian Oral Health Alliance welcomes Thursday’s announcement that a Matthew Guy Liberal Government will significantly increase funding for public dental care to address long waiting times and put an emphasis on oral health this election. “We have seen the waiting times for access public dental care balloon from 20 months to nearlyContinue reading “VOHA welcomes Liberal Election announcement”

Poor oral health continues to be one of the strongest indicators of inequality in Australia, yet dental health continues to be absent from health policy discussions in this country. There are 200,000 older Australians living in residential aged care who have poor access to dental care. The Aged Care Royal Commission highlighted significant neglect andContinue reading “Stop the Rot”

To commemorate World Oral Health Day, Monash Health Dental Services ran an employee drive-through dental clinic. Utilising the COVID-19 drive-through screening model, the clinic offered Monash Health employees free dental screening and oral health advice from the convenience of their car. Dr Ramini Shankumar, Unit Head Monash Health Dental Services, shared how providing this serviceContinue reading “Monash Health Dental Service celebrates success of employee drive-through dental clinic”

House of Representatives Select Committee on Regional Australia – Inquiry into the future of Regional Australia The recent Pride of Place report has been published highlighting the access issues rural and regional Australians face. The Terms of reference for the House of Representatives Select Committee on Regional Australia included:  Examining the effectiveness of existingContinue reading “VOHA recognised in Pride of Place report”

A recent survey of consumer experiences of trying to get timely dental care has again revealed significant and diverse problems for consumers including one person resorting to super glue to fix a broken tooth while waiting for care. The Victorian Oral Health Alliance (VOHA) asked staff in community information agencies around Victoria, facilitated by itsContinue reading “Access to Dental Care still causing consumer problems”

The Victorian Oral Health Alliance is calling on the State and Federal Governments to focus on oral health and increase funding for the provision of public dental care following the release of new data from the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch which shows waiting times in Victoria continuing to increase. There are more than 1.5Continue reading “Dental queues getting longer”

VOHA has just completed its Submission to the Victorian Budget. Its proposals focussed on: a short-term recovery program for adult care by funding a catch-up program in community clinics of $42million to treat an extra 92,000 Victorians in 2022/23 as a first step in future investments facilitating changes in the medium term to enable greaterContinue reading “Victorian Budget Submission 2022-23”

Good oral health is important for general health and wellbeing and the impact of oral disease places a considerable burden on individuals, families and the community. Our position paper outlines the two major initiatives that VOHA believes are required to improve access to oral health care for both older Australians and for disadvantaged adults moreContinue reading “VOHA Position Paper – Federal Election 2022”

Consumer experiences of the long waiting lists A couple of (many) stories provided by Community Information and Support Victoria of the impact of long waiting lists for oral health care in Victoria. ‘I have had a 72 year old who endured much before finally being placed on the waiting list for Periodontics at the DentalContinue reading “Consumer Stories”

Economic evaluation of the aged care oral health program -Senior Smiles An economic evaluation of an oral health hygienist program in aged care facilities showed a significant cost-benefit $3 – $5 for every dollar spent. The Senior Smiles model of care provided residents with preventive oral hygiene care, referral pathways for complex dental treatment needsContinue reading “Senior Smiles – Oral Health Program”