Adults accessing oral health care in the public sector, by jurisdiction

KPI 18: Proportion of adults 18 years and older eligible for public dental services who access public dental care

Publicly funded dental services play a role in helping eligible Australians who might find it difficult to access dental care in the private sector to receive such care, either free of charge or at a subsidised cost. Public dental services are operated by states and territories, with eligibility for services and the organisation of services varying greatly across the jurisdictions.

Based on the available data, around 1 in 5 adults aged 18 years and over accessed public dental care during 2014–2016 (21%) and 1 in 4 (23%) in 2016–2018. It should be noted that not all states and territories were able to provide data for the 2016–2018 period so the national estimate should be interpreted with caution.

Explore the data using the interactive below:

 

KPI 18: Proportion of people eligible for public dental services who access public dental care

This figure shows the proportion of adults aged 18 years and over and children aged 0–17 years eligible for public dental services who access public dental care. National, state and territory data is presented for 2014-16 and 2016-18. In Australia, around 1 in 4 (23%) of adults aged 18 years and over accessed public dental care in 2016–18.

Data tables available for download.

More information about dental visiting patterns.