But those are more than just statistics for Reedy Creek’s Marty Thompson.
He has been battling with the Victorian dental system since August 2015, only managing to be placed on an waiting list of about 18 months in December 2018.
Mr Thompson has been in limbo since then, battling staff shortages and lost referrals as his health deteriorates.
“It started as a simple filling, but I now need seven teeth removed and my GP has genuine concerns the infection will damage my heart valves, requiring heart valve replacement surgery,” Mr Thompson said.
“I’ve lost 15 kg, am constantly ill and in constant pain. I’m also on some nasty painkillers to get through each day.”
The Euroa electorate provides public dental care through Seymour Health and Northeast Health in Benalla.
Performance data as at June 2018 by the Australian Dental Association found that on average the waiting time for general care at these practices was 22.8 months and 25.1 months respectively.
Member for Euroa Steph Ryan said the funding required to treat the huge waiting list was not provided.
“I have contacted two consecutive health ministers about waiting times for dental services and have had no success getting something done,” she said.
“We don’t know how long the waiting list is. People are left in limbo not knowing how long they will have to wait.
“It’s disgraceful this issue has not been fixed. Marty’s case has been in the media a lot and I would have thought it would have prompted some action and an investigation.
“The dental system needs to be better resourced, so people are not left stranded as long as Marty has been.”
A spokesperson for Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the Federal Government was to blame for excessive wait times in Victoria.
“While the Victorian Government has made the largest ever investment in public dental, we know waiting times could be better if the Commonwealth hadn’t cut funding by 30 per cent,” the spokesperson said.
“We’ve taken action to address the issue, but it will remain a problem unless the Commonwealth puts patients first and reverses the cuts.
“We are delivering free dental in Victorian state schools to ensure kids can get the dental care they need, families can save on time and money, and more dental appointments are freed up for adults.”
The spokesperson said the Victorian Government invested $235.9 million in dental services in 2019-20.
“Across the state, the dental health program treated 386,373 people in 2017-18. Of this total, around 193,000 were priority clients.
“The vast majority of the priority clients were children under 12 who are not placed on waiting lists and are offered the next available appointment.
“In 2017-18, the average time to a first appointment for priority clients was 22.9 days. When priority clients are combined with the general waiting lists, the average wait across all categories of client was 6.8 months for general care in 2017.”
But that was of little consolation for Mr Thompson, who still sees no end in sight for his battle to receive dental treatment.
“My concern is for people who can’t fight for themselves. I can write letters and try and get something done, but I hate to think about the situation of people who don’t have that ability,” he said.
“It took me years to get on the waiting list. How long is the list if it takes that long to get on it? More funding is needed.”
