NSW Health provides access to public dental care for children under 18 years of age with a Medicare card, and adults who have or are listed as dependent on an Australian Government Health Care Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card, or Pensioner Concession Card.
Patients accessing the public dental system receive care from public dental clinics or participating private dental clinics. Patients may receive a voucher from a public dental clinic to receive specific treatment from participating private dental clinics offering treatment described by the NSW Health Oral Health Fee for Service Scheme.
The information below describes the number of patients who have received treatment through the public dental system in NSW, including those who have received vouchers.
Patients may require multiple appointments to complete their care. For patients who receive their care directly from a public dental clinic, each individual appointment is recorded. For those who receive their care from a participating private dental clinic via a voucher, care is recorded as a single appointment.
From 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024, the NSW Health public dental system provided 196,891 appointments to 126,869 patients.
Figure 1: NSW Public dental activity by quarter, June 2020 to March 2024
NSW Health aims to see all patients within the recommended maximum waiting time and prioritises patient care based on the urgency of their needs, ensuring that those with urgent dental issues receive treatment in a timely manner.
For details about recommended maximum waiting times and information on how patients are prioritised to receive care, please refer to the Priority Oral Health Program and Waiting List Management policy directive.
On 31 March 2024, 78,712 people were waiting for assessment and treatment in public dental services in NSW. This number is a decrease from the peak of 147,056 people waiting at the end of January 2022. There has been a slight increase in the number of patients waiting since June 2023.
Figure 2: Number of patients on the NSW public dental service assessment and treatment waiting list, from June 2020 to 31 March 2024
Source: NSW Health Local Health Districts and Specialty NetworksFootnote: Patients waiting for specialist dental services are not included.
On 31 March 2024, 96% of the people on the waitlist have been waiting less than the maximum recommended waiting time. There has been an increase in the proportion of people who have been waiting less than the maximum recommended waiting time, from 58% on 31 December 2021.
Figure 3: Percent of patients who had been waiting less than the recommended maximum waiting time for NSW public dental service assessment and treatment, June 2020 to March 2024
The number of people waiting for assessment and treatment as at 31 March 2024 ranged from 979 in Far West Local Health District (LHD) to 14,548 in Hunter New England LHD. This variation reflects the size of the population eligible to access NSW public dental services in each LHD.
The proportion of patients who have been waiting less than the maximum recommended waiting time also varied across LHDs.
Table 1: NSW public dental service assessment and treatment waiting list by Local Health District, as of 31 March 2024
Source – NSW Health Local Health Districts and Specialty NetworksNotes: Figures represent the local health district where service was provided. Patients waiting for specialist dental services are not included.