Dental News - Report highlights lack of access to dental care for the elderly

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 17. December 2018

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SYDNEY, Australia: The state of Australians’ oral health has been covered extensively down under for many years. As reported by Dental Tribune early in 2018, more than 90 per cent of Australian adults have experienced decay in their permanent teeth. For the elderly, access to oral health care can be a real challenge and in a new report launched by the Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia, a comprehensive picture of contemporary life for Australians aged 50 and over has been drawn and some critical data has been revealed.

The State of the (Older) Nation 2018 Report, is the most comprehensive national representative survey ever undertaken, according to COTA. Covering a number of subject areas, it revealed that 80 per cent of people in this age group felt younger than their chronological age and mentioned “health” as the number one factor that influences whether they had a high or low quality of life. Access to health services and the rising cost of living were also raised as crucial issues in the report, particularly for vulnerable, older Australians.

“This inaugural State of the (older) Report quantifies the key issues for older Australians in relation to employment, age discrimination, cost of living, financial security, health, home and aged care, housing, later life planning, consumer rights and transport,” said COTA Australia CEO Ian Yates.

With nearly a third of the population—7.9 million people in total—aged 50 years or older, the report also revealed a general concern around accessibility to dental services, which Yates highlights as one of the problems that needs to be addressed.

“COTA Australia is calling on all sides of politics to commit to a long-term national strategy to address the needs of older Australians, including increasing rent assistance by 40 per cent, taking a whole-of-government approach to services for older Australians and improving access to oral and dental health services for older Australians,” he said.

The report was commissioned by the Federation of nine Councils on the Ageing from across Australia and was independently conducted by Newgate Australia. It is expected to become an annual report in order to monitor the progress and the attitudes of older Australians over the long term.

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