Opposition leader calls for better dental care in Queensland
The leader of the opposition in Queensland, John-Paul Langbroek, has called for better oral healthcare in Queensland.
Mr Langbroek, a qualified dentist, claims that the government is failing to provide people with acceptable standards of oral healthcare. Langbroek called for the introduction of scheme and initiatives to improve standards of oral health amongst children and encourage children to get involved in oral hygiene from an early age.
Mr Langbroek also claimed that existing dental clinics need to be updated to meet modern health and safety regulations. Langbroek welcomed news of new mobile dental units, but also stressed that fixed dental clinics were very important.
In response to Mr Langbroek’s comments, Health Minister, Paul Lucas, said that the clinics were due to be replaced by new mobile dental units, which would make dental care more accessible for local people, especially those living in rural areas. Mr Lucas said that parents would not be involved in the decision-making process for the future of school clinics and claimed that the mobile units would be more cost-effective; at present, there are just seven schools with dental clinics, which means that hundreds of schools are now served by a dentist. The new units will travel to schools all over Queensland, making dental care much more accessible.
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