New Dental Clinic opens in Melton, Victoria
A new dental clinic has opened in Melton; the $4.9 million centre is already operating at full-capacity and treating more than a thousand patients each month but there are plans to make more places available for new patients next year, as the centre will take on more staff.
The clinic has been open for a few months now but waiting lists in the area are still lengthy; the clinic was built to try and reduce waiting lists and make dental care more accessible to people living in the Melton area. Before the dental centre opened, many people in the area were waiting several months for treatment.
The new dental centre features 12 dental chairs and two laboratories; the laboratories are used for sterilisation services and to manufacture dentures. The centre has replaced a one-chair mobile unit, which used to visit Coburn Primary School to provide routine check-ups for children.
The Melton Dental Health Service employs four dentist and dental students from LaTrobe University; more students are set to work at the centre next year and it is hoped that more newly qualified dentists will stay on and work in the area, rather than travelling to larger cities.
David Grace, deputy chief executive of Djerriwarrh Health Services, said that the new centre has made a difference to local people and hopes that more dentists will be encouraged to work in the area in the future. Health chiefs accept that access to dental services is a problem and they are working to try and reduce waiting lists and make dental care more accessible.
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