The Commonwealth government subsidises the cost of prescription medicines through two separate schemes, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) for eligible war veterans and their dependants. Medicines available under the PBS/RPBS and conditions of prescribing are listed in the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits.
Most of the listed medicines are prescribed by doctors, but other health professionals such as dentists are also eligible to prescribe. Dentists are not able to prescribe general PBS items but have a separate Dental Schedule from which they can prescribe dental care medicines for their patients (Department of Health 2022a).
The following PBS/RPBS data relate to dental prescriptions, categorised by the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System as listed in the PBS Schedule.
It is important to highlight that some medications (such as codeine with paracetamol and ibuprofen) were also available over the counter before 2017. Therefore data for these medicines will be incomplete as over the counter sales are not captured in the PBS/RPBS data. Also, people may be prescribed medications for dental conditions by other health professionals (e.g. GPs) that are not captured under the Dental Schedule.
Key terms
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS): A national, government-funded scheme that subsidises the cost of a wide range of pharmaceutical drugs for all Australians to help them afford standard medications. The Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits lists all the medicinal products available under the PBS and explains the uses for which they can be subsidised.
- Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS): An Australian government scheme, subsidised by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), that provides a range of pharmaceuticals and wound dressings at a concessional rate for the treatment of eligible veterans, war widows and widowers and their dependants.
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Dental prescriptions: Dental care medicines listed on the Dental Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits that have been prescribed by dentists for their patients and supplied by pharmacies.
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ATC: The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System is used for the classification of active ingredients of drugs according to the organ or system on which they act and their therapeutic, pharmacological and chemical properties.
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The 15 most dispensed dental prescriptions are categorised by ATC as follows:
Number of dental prescriptions dispensed
Over 1 million dental prescriptions were dispensed in Australia each year (2013–2021)
- Around 1.2 million dental prescriptions were dispensed in 2021.
- The number of dental prescriptions dispensed in Australia each year remains relatively stable, ranging from a low of 1.0 million in 2017, to a high of 1.2 million in 2021.
Explore the data using the Prescribing interactive 1 below.