In Australia, people with disability are shut out from receiving the dental care they need. Australians with disability have poorer oral health, greater unmet treatment needs and less regular dental attendance than the rest of the Australian population. In a joint submission with three other organisation CYDA has responded to the Inquiry into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services Australia with the following recommendations:
- improve data collection on the oral health of people with disability
- include dental care as part of Medicare for Australians with disability
- sustainably invest in Domiciliary dental care (DDC)
- sustainably invest in Special Needs Dentistry (SND) and upskill general dentists to treat people with disability
- promote interprofessional education and practice between Special Needs Dentistry (SND), general dental practitioners, general medicine, the disability support sector, and people with disability themselves to increase the capacity of general dentists to treat people with disability
- sustainably fund rights-based training for dentists and allied health professionals that is co-designed and co-led by people with disability and family members to promote understandings of disability grounded in lived experience and inclusive practice
- improve access to a range of sedation pathways and provide better support for people who may require sedation, with the use of General Anesthesia (GA) reserved as a last resort
- provide communication and information in a way that makes sense to the person
- ensure use of Assistive or Augmentative Communication (AAC) tools are respected and provided where a person uses them
- ensure all people have access to Supported Decision Making at the dentist as a pathway to the provision of genuine informed consent and choice and control over their oral health
You can click on the download buttons above to read the read the full submission.
