Who are we
Media contacts
Public dental services
Oral disease and its costs
Waiting times
Dental Health Services Victoria provides clinical dental services through The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and purchases dental services for public patients from community health agencies throughout Victoria. It also plays the leading role in Victoria in developing and delivering oral health promotion programs designed to prevent oral disease and improve oral health in the community.
Read more about Dental Health Services Victoria
Jacqui McCallum
tel: 03 9341 1361
jacqueline.mccallum@dhsv.org.au
Lisa Fairweather
tel: 03 9341 1134
lisa.fairweather@dhsv.org.au
Available for interview by arrangement:
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Dr Deborah Cole - Chief Executive Officer
BDS, GradDipHealthAdmin, MBA, GradCertLead&CathCulture, FAICD, FAIM
Appointed in February 2011, Deborah brings considerable experience in managing major public healthcare organisations, having held CEO positions at Calvary Health Care and Yarra City Council as well as senior executive positions at Mercy Health and St Vincent’s Health. Deborah has also had senior management experience in the oral health sector as Director of The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne from 1995-1999 and Regional Director of the South Australian Dental Service. |
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Professor Mike Morgan - Executive Director Oral Health Leadership
BDS (Otago), MDSc, Grad Dip Epidemiol, PhD (Melb) FICD Mike teaches at The University of Melbourne where he is Deputy Head of School and holds the Colgate Chair of Population Oral Health. Mike is a member of the Australian Dental Council Executive, Chairs the Australian Dental Council Accreditation Committee and was recently appointed to the Board of VicHealth. He has a strong background and interest in the causes and prevention of oral disease. |
Interviews and background briefings can be arranged with our staff whose areas of expertise include:
- Children’s dentistry
- Caries (dental decay)
- Periodontics (gum disease)
- Orthodontics
- Implants
- Aboriginal oral health
- Population statistics and trends in oral health
We also have staff able to provide clinical statements on:
- mouth rinses
- tooth whitening
- mouth injury
- mouth piercings
- the impact of foods and drinks on oral health.
Public dental services
Where are public dental services available?
- The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne in Carlton
- Public clinics located in community health centres and regional hospitals around Victoria
- Relocatable clinics and dental vans located in high-need areas around the State that visit aged care facilities and schools for children with special needs
- Ozanam House (for homeless men) in North Melbourne.
What services are available?
- Emergency dental care
- General dental care for adults, children and youth – including check-ups, cleaning and fillings
- Specialist care at The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and some community clinics - including orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics and oral surgery
- Dentures
- Student clinics - free treatment by students under the supervision of fully qualified and experienced dentists and oral health professionals at The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and some community dental clinics.
Who can get public dental care?
- All children aged 12 years and under
- Adults and adolescents aged 13 years and over if they or their parents hold a health care or pensioner concession card
- Teenagers aged 12-17 years who are eligible for the Medicare Teen Dental Plan
- Some children and adolescents without a concession card may be eligible for treatment in certain circumstances.
- Dental treatment accounted for 6.2% ($6.1 billion) of Australia’s total (government and individual)
health expenditure in 2007-08 (Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, September 2009). - The major causes of dental disease are dental caries (decay) and periodontal disease (gum disease).
- Over 95% of people born before 1970 have experienced dental decay.
- Approximately 76% of people born in the years 1970 to 1990 have experienced dental decay.
- Approximately one in five Australian adults has moderate (20.5% of people) or severe (2.4% of people) forms of gum disease.
(Source: National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004-06, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) - Dental conditions make up 8% of preventable hospitalisations in Australia,
amounting to 43,667 admissions a year.
(Source: Atlas of Avoidable Hospitalisations, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, published 2007, 2001/02 data). - In Victoria in 2006/07, there were 9,038 avoidable hospitalisations for dental conditions.
(Source: Atlas of Potentially Avoidable Hospitalisations in Victoria: ambulatory care sensitive conditions, Victorian Department of Health, 2009).
Average length of wait for public dental care statewide (at end of June 2011)
| Emergency care | 90.4% seen within 24 hours |
| General care | 16.4 months |
| Denture care | 17.1 months |
| Priority denture care | 1.4 months |
Source: DHSV 2011 Annual Report
Information on waiting times at particular locations around Victoria is available from the Department of Health ‘Your Hospitals’ website.