By Charlene Gatt
GOT a toothache? Chances are you’ll need to grin and bear it.
Footscray residents are waiting up to seven months to receive general dental care at the Western Region Health Centre’s dental service.
And for those needing
dentures or work on their dentures, the average wait is nine months.
The State Government has released the statistics for the June 2011 quarter, but has yet to put up number for the September 2011 quarter, despite releasing hospital figures for that period more than three weeks ago.
The Western Region Health Centre provides dental services from two clinics in Footscray – a children’s clinic in Geelong Rd and an adults clinic in Paisley St – and provides emergency and general dental care to more than 10,000 patients each year.
Last year, the centre campaigned heavily for a new dental facility that would be located on Paisley St and would have 12 dental chairs.
Western Region Health Centre CEO Lyn Morgain said waiting times for dental care had reduced substantially through ongoing funding from the State Government and a number of initiatives that the centre had introduced, including partnerships with private dental practitioners.
“This has worked really well to improve access to care for the community,” she said.
“The health centre is working with State Government and other stakeholders to improve the dental facilities in the Footscray.
“New, modern dental facilities will greatly assist in improving access to dental care for the local community into the future.
“This is particularly important as the dental needs of the local community continue to be higher than the state averages for all age groups, with more than half of the children we see under the age of five years experiencing dental disease.”
