As the cost of living continues to bite many Australians can't afford to see a dentist. That can have profound impacts, causing excruciating pain an inability to eat properly and knock-on health conditions.
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00:00 Each week, hundreds of people gather for help from a charity started by Mark McDonald.
00:13 It's a cruel irony that a man who devotes his life to feeding others doesn't have enough
00:18 teeth to eat properly.
00:20 Virtually since 2019 I've been eating a soft mush diet.
00:25 Five years ago, the 61-year-old had radiotherapy for skin cancer.
00:30 It damaged his salivary glands and his teeth started to rot.
00:35 A retired nurse, he couldn't afford to pay $10,000 for treatment.
00:41 The pain was intense, your breath stunk.
00:44 You were cautious about talking to people because you were worried about overcoming
00:49 them with really bad breath.
00:51 He eventually had all but seven of his teeth removed.
00:55 His hollow cheeks are a sign of the 25 kilos he's lost.
01:01 There's no pleasure in eating.
01:03 It's a job you have to do.
01:05 Some Australians, including Mark, can get free public dental care in state-run clinics
01:10 and hospitals, usually if they have a concession card.
01:15 But waiting lists are jammed.
01:16 Even if you've been waiting, you know, several years, well, you're still not the high priority
01:23 for them.
01:24 How are you?
01:25 Associate Professor Ritilal Laloo has been tracking the wait for free care in Queensland
01:30 for almost a decade.
01:32 The people who need to be seen more quickly are not being seen on time.
01:37 Long public waiting lists are seen across the country.
01:41 But most Australians aren't eligible for free care.
01:45 And one in six adults delay or avoid seeing a dentist because of the cost.
01:51 Medical barriers are so significant that people make the choice of suffering through their
01:56 problems and not having them fixed, which I think is extremely unfortunate and sad that
02:01 people have to make those choices.
02:03 Shockingly, one in 25 people aged 15 and over have no natural teeth.
02:09 Poor oral health is also associated with other chronic conditions.
02:14 There's so many other costs involved in life at the moment, so dental work comes lower
02:19 down the list.
02:20 Nothing, there's nothing you can do.
02:21 You can go on a waiting list or grin and bear it.
02:25 Jordan Steele-John is chairing a Senate committee into oral health care.
02:30 What we have in Australia is a system in decay, a dental health system that does not work
02:37 for the community.
02:39 The Greens have long pushed to include dental in Medicare, which they say would cost about
02:45 $77 billion over a decade.
02:49 Successive governments have balked at the price tag of universal care.
02:54 The current one says it acknowledges there are barriers to accessing affordable dental
02:59 services and it's committed to the long-term goal of expanding Medicare.
03:05 The Australian Dental Association wants more public funding for vulnerable groups.
03:11 By targeting those socio-economic demographics that need it most, like those in aged care,
03:17 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and those with low incomes, we could assist in
03:23 turning around the burden of Australia's oral disease.
03:26 After much lobbying and almost two years of waiting, Mark has now had bone grafts in his
03:33 jaw.
03:34 He'll go back on a waiting list for more treatment and still can't eat much.
03:39 I wouldn't mind a steak.
03:40 It's been years since I've had a steak.
03:42 Yeah.
03:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]