Free dental clinic improves the welfare of Aboriginal Australians

A free dental service is being provided by dental students in an attempt to raise the overall health and access to care for First Nation Australians. Many suffer from bad oral health which can negatively impact their overall wellbeing, but a Southern Queensland clinic at the center of an indigenous community is making a difference. Having a great smile is very important for Gavin Saltner. He’s been a regular patient of the University of Queensland dental clinic in Dalby since it opened ten years ago. Saltner’s treatment is provided free of charge by students who are supervised. “It helps our people. Some people, like I say, just can't afford to travel. It's in our own town, which is great,” he says. For students, it’s an opportunity to gain important experience and to learn how to deal with the challenges indigenous patients face, a population that is at higher risk of dental issues. “A lot of patients do come from quite far away. They drive like two, three hours even, to come see us,” explains student dentist Mirabel Lee. “I think it does give you a bit of a better idea of what goes on in Australia as a whole. So not just in the big cities, but also in a small town like Dalby,” says student dentist Dan Yuet Yau. A University of Queensland study shows that, at a local level, the work done by the clinic is having a positive impact. “There's a lot less sort of emergency work extractions, people losing teeth and needing dentures. These days, much more of the treatment that the students provide is actually preventive services,” says researcher Dr. Sandra March. Since the clinic opened, almost 180 graduates have become trained dentists. It's being hailed as a model that can be used to improve the health of other people living in rural and less accessible areas of Australia. “We're hoping to take this forward, Goondir is looking into establishing a bigger clinic in Chinchilla as well, and we want to replicate this model there,” says Shubham Weling of Goondir Health Services. This article was provided by The Associated Press.