The NobleDentist Blog

This is an article by Madeleine Logan that was recently published in the Toowoomba Chronicle – Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

WHEN pensioner Col Bowman was told it would be 30 months before a public dentist could check his 11 remaining teeth, he nearly fainted.

As the Toowoomba man’s name creeps up the three-year waiting list, his teeth are slowly rotting beyond repair.

The retired air force serviceman has been lingering since February 2007 to be told whether eight of his teeth can be saved.

“I’ve already had one tooth extracted while I’ve been on the waiting list,” he said.

“While I wait on fillings, the damage is getting so bad I will probably need more extractions.”

Queensland Health said Toowoomba patients wanting general treatment wait an average two years and 11 months. Those needing prosthetic treatment wait an average one year and six months.

Toowoomba woman Dell Laine has been waiting for one extraction and five fillings since January last year.

“If I could afford to, I’d go to a private dentist,” she said. “But we just found out my husband has cancer and I can’t spare the money. If I could get those five fillings, they would last me my time out.”

Patricia Taylor, who has been on the waiting list since March 25 last year, said the State Government should offer a bulk billing service for private dentists, similar to the system adopted by doctors.

About 25 appointments are allocated each day for emergencies. People, like Darling Heights mother-of-three Jodie Wells who broke her tooth while chewing on Nutri-Grain, have to call at 8am on weekdays to jostle for those slots.

Pensioner Antoinette Brekelmans said she saw a dentist within 24 hours when she had a tooth infection.

But she quipped she “may be dead” before she gets a check-up on her teeth that are “past their use by date”.

Toowoomba woman Joy Brighton, 70, is happy to wait one year for a check—up.

“But three is a bit over the top,” she said.

A spokeswoman said Toowoomba and Darling Downs Health Service District was impacted by a nationwide shortage of dentists and oral health therapists, combined with an increase in the numbers in the eligible population.