Victorian dentists are concerned people are delaying routine care and stretching the time between appointments because of cost-of-living pressures.
Australian Dental Association Victorian branch chief executive Matt Hopcraft says people's oral health might deteriorate if they defer or cancel many appointments.
"One of the things we saw out of the pandemic, wherein Victorian dentistry was effectively shut down by the government for more than 200 days, was a lot of people's oral health suffered," he said.
"We're still really seeing the impacts of that now.
"What really worries us is that if people start to do the same again, and defer care, cancel appointments and not go and visit the dentist, we're going to see those same problems.
"People's oral health will get worse."
Cheaper to get teeth removed: pensioner
Bendigo pensioner Debbie Penhall hasn't been to a private dentist in seven years because she can't afford it.
She needs her dentures done and has been putting it off for three years.
"Every time I have a sore tooth, I say, 'pull it out,'" Ms Penhall said.
"I can't afford to go to a normal dentist."
She is eligible for discounted dental care at Bendigo Health's public dental hospital.
"If you go to the normal dentist, you're paying over $100 for a dentist," Ms Penhall said.
"If you go to the dental hospital, I think you're paying $30 to $35 a visit.
"For dentists, you're paying nearly $1,000 for dentures. It's just too expensive."
Routine care, treatments delayed
A survey of 25,000 people, conducted by the Australian Dental Association nationally, found 58 per cent of people had put off dental treatment in the 12 months to December 2022.
The survey result is an improvement when compared to 67 per cent of respondents delaying dental check-ups in 2021, and 64 per cent in 2020.
Dr Hopcraft said Victorian dentists had been extraordinarily busy since the state's last COVID lockdown, as people caught up on care.
"But now people are saying it's cost-of-living that's keeping them away from the dentist," he said.
"We're starting to see patients deferring or delaying some of their care. Some of them are cancelling appointments."
Dr Hopcraft says some people are delaying regular care, with dentists seeing patients trying to stretch out the time between appointments.
"For example, a patient who is undergoing root canal treatment needs to have a number of appointments one after the other," he said.
"If they stretch those out too far, it sometimes compromises care.
"We're really encouraging people to maintain their visits to the dentist.
"We are really concerned about the impact that the cost of living is really having on people."
Dental care a 'luxury'
Epsom Dental manager Sally Weaire said the practice had been quite busy from COVID to now, but was seeing an influx of requests for emergency care as a result of patients delaying preventative and urgent treatment.
"Unfortunately, people do view dental as a luxury, rather than an essential," she said.
"We need to be educating patients and the community about the importance of dental treatment, and regular preventative care."
Data from the Australian Dental Association at a national level indicates dentists are trying to keep costs for their patients to a minimum, with fees increasing by 3.7 per cent from 2020 to 2022.
Dr Hopcraft has urged people struggling with cost-of-living pressures to speak to their dentist before putting off appointments.
"Don't just cancel care, because your dentist is going to be really keen to try and work with you and look at ways that they can help to make sure that your oral health is as good as it can possibly be," he said.
