Bendigo Dental Patients Reliant On Emergency Hospital Care

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Figures show that dental patients in Bendigo are 2.8 times more likely to visit the Emergency Department for dental issues than patients living in urban areas.

Researchers from La Trobe University are studying why adults in rural areas are likely to need urgent dental care after figures showed that 320 people visited the Emergency Department at Bendigo Hospital over the course of the last 12 months.

Researcher, Jackie Goode, says that the statistics show that many people are using their local emergency department as a dental facility, despite the fact that doctors are not trained to deal with dental issues and can only prescribe anti-biotics and painkillers.

Goode said that there is no after hours care for patients in Bendigo and this means that people are ending up in hospitals; she also added that cost was a major barrier for many people, as some people cannot even afford the subsidised dental fees.

Emergency departments are already under pressure without the influx of dental patients and doctors can only provide short-term measures, rather than treating the root cause of pain.

The research team from La Trobe University has called for better access to health and dental services in rural areas.

 

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