Interview - AMA President, Dr Bill Glasson, with John Laws, Radio 2UE - Dental care on Medicare Plus scheme

LAWS:            Very shortly after he became leader, Mark Latham promised a Labor government would bring back the Commonwealth Dental Scheme abolished by the Howard Government back in 1996.  That was an initiative welcomed by just about everybody.  But with Mr Latham surging ahead in the polls, the Government is also now looking at providing cover for dental care as part of its Medicare Plus package which it desperately is trying to get through the Senate.

Dr Bill Glasson is president of the AMA, as you know, and the good doctor is on the line.  Good morning, Doctor.

GLASSON:    Good morning, John.  How are you?

LAWS:            I'm pretty well, thank you.  What impact would putting dental health under Medicare have on the teeth of the less well off?

GLASSON:    Well John, as you know, The link is certainly that those that are less well off have the worst dental health and, as such, often end up losing all their teeth, and with that, the health implications that occur.  So we feel that by funding dental health, in a sense you will impact significantly on those people who can least afford, I suppose, to go to the dentist.

LAWS:            Do your members see people in their various surgeries whose general health has been affected by the poor dental health?

GLASSON:    Very much so, John, particularly in the elderly.  If you've got no teeth or you've got a mouthful of holes in your teeth, then you can imagine from the point of view of a normal sort of balanced diet when you're trying to eat, you know, rump steak or whatever, it becomes very difficult.  And so, certainly in our surgeries, we see both the consequences of poor dental hygiene with abscesses and gum disease, etc., right through the manifestations of not being able to eat properly, and hence the subsequent sort of problems with that.

LAWS:            I've talked to people in this radio program that have waited five and six years for dental work to be done.  One young fellow - I think he was about 31, 32 - simply can't get a job because he's got a mouthful of hideous, decayed teeth, and on appearances alone he is rejected and he can't get help.

GLASSON:    Well, that's exactly right.  I mean, the situation out there if you're trying to get public dental support is very, very difficult.  And as you say, you'll probably end up losing all your teeth in waiting to get treated.  And the implications, obviously, in getting a job and just being sort of socially acceptable with either black teeth or no teeth, is both embarrassing, and simply from a job perspective, is often difficult.

LAWS:            Wouldn't do a lot for self-respect either, would it?

GLASSON:    Well, it doesn't.  When you're talking about your self-esteem and you've got no teeth, it makes it very difficult, John, when you're trying to put a big grin on and you've got a couple of teeth missing, it's often very difficult.

LAWS:            So would it mean, Doctor, in the long run that we would save money as taxpayers if dental care was covered by Medicare?

GLASSON:    John, that's my point.  I think a dollar spent on dental care saves us $3 or more in the health system further down the line.  I think it's - you know, preventative dentistry is what it's all about, and we certainly practise that in our children and it's a great success in this country.  But we've got to extend that to our adults to make sure that adults can access appropriate dental services in a timely manner and obviously in a cost-appropriate manner as well so that we can actually turn this around to make sure that we don't end up costing the community more dollars as we try and treat these patients down the line.

LAWS:            There's also talk of the safety net for high medical bills for the less well off being reduced from $500 to $300 and from $1,000 to $800 for everybody else.  Is that something you'd support?

GLASSON:    Yes, I think where they draw the line, John, obviously is up to them.  But what I would like to say is there is a certain percentage of our population out there who probably should have a zero gap, in other words, there's probably 5% or 10% of the population that need to be picked up, supported, full stop.

Now, those at the upper end of the financial income, they may be able to support - obviously provide more of their expenses themselves, and I think that's fair and equitable across the system.  But where they draw the line, whether it be $300, $500, I think that's up to the figures - you know, as far as what it's going to cost the community, I suppose.

LAWS:            OK.  But you do believe money spent on dental care would be money well spent?

GLASSON:    John, very much so.  That's our message - money spent on dental care will save money in the long term and also obviously improve the quality of life that people can access and hopefully, as you said, for the people who are trying to access jobs, then it will allow them also to, you know, compete in an appropriate manner.

LAWS:            This fellow that I talked to the other day, they've got to do something about it or he's going to wind with septicemia.  He's been told that.

GLASSON:    Well, that's right, John.  In bad gum disease you can very easily get septicemia, you can get sort of various cardio-vascular problems as well.  And so, if you've got a mouthful of decaying teeth and gum disease, that poisons your system, basically, and so you're sort of chronically ill from all the toxins and whatever there is - that are in your mouth.

LAWS:            So one thing leads to another?

GLASSON:    Exactly.

LAWS:            OK, thanks very much, Doctor.  Always good to talk to you.

GLASSON:    John, thanks very much indeed.

Ends