Dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic

Some Australians receive dental care under general anaesthesia, usually due to the severity of the disease or other medical, physical or behavioural complications. Dental care under general anaesthetic carries an additional risk and is resource intensive.

In 2023–24, the rate of hospital separations for dental conditions requiring general anaesthetic was 6.1 per 1,000 population.

  • In 2023–24, there were around 153,000 separations requiring general anaesthetic for procedures related to dental conditions.

Explore the number or rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic across Australia between 2013–14 and 2023–24 using the Hospitalisations interactive 7 below.

Hospitalisations interactive 7: Number and rate of hospital separations requiring general anaesthesia for procedures related to dental conditionsª, states and territories

Column chart showing separations requiring general anaesthesia for dental procedures by jurisdiction. In 2023–24 there were 152,940 such separations.

Column chart showing separations requiring general anaesthesia for dental procedures by jurisdiction. In 2023–24 there were 152,940 such separations.

Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Data tables: Hospitalisations.

In 2023–24, the rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic (per 1,000 population) was highest in those aged 15–24 years (15.4 per 1,000 population).

  • In 2023–24, the rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic was lower in males (5.3 per 1,000 population) than females (6.1 per 1,000 population).
  • In 2023–24, the rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic was lower in Very remote areas (5.2 per 1,000 population) than any other area.

Explore the number or rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic by selected characteristics using the Hospitalisations interactive 8 below.

Hospitalisations interactive 8: Number and rate of hospital separations requiring general anaesthesia for procedures related to dental conditionsª, by selected characteristics, Australia

Column chart showing separations requiring general anaesthesia for dental procedures by characteristic. In 2023–24 the rate was 5.7 per 1,000 population.

Column chart showing separations requiring general anaesthesia for dental procedures by characteristic. In 2023–24 the rate was 5.7 per 1,000 population.

Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Data tables: Hospitalisations.

The rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic has fluctuated over time, from a low of 4.9 separations per 1,000 population in 2019–20, a year affected by COVID-19, to a high of 6.2 separations per 1,000 population in 2022–23.

In 2023–24, the rate of hospitalisations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic was 6.1 per 1,000 population.

Between 2016–17 and 2023–24, the rate of hospital separations for dental procedures requiring general anaesthetic was consistently higher for:

  • females than males
  • Other Australians than Indigenous Australians
  • those living in Major cities than those living in Very remote areas.

Explore the trend of potentially preventable hospitalisations due to dental conditions using the Hospitalisations interactive 9 below.

Hospitalisations interactive 9: Number and age-standardised rate of hospital separations for hospitalisations requiring general anaesthesia for procedures related to dental conditionsª, by sex, remoteness, indigenous status

Line graph showing rate of separations requiring general anaesthesia by sex, remoteness and Indigenous status. Lowest 4.9 per 1,000 in 2019–20, highest 6.2 in 2022–23.

Line graph showing rate of separations requiring general anaesthesia by sex, remoteness and Indigenous status. Lowest 4.9 per 1,000 in 2019–20, highest 6.2 in 2022–23.

Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Data tables: Hospitalisations.

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