State-wide general dental waiting list up slightly

There were 112,337 Victorians waiting for general dental care at the end of last June, according to the 2007 DHSV Quality of Care Report, Reasons to Smile. The previous year there were 110,579 people waiting for general dental care – a 14% fall from 2004-05 (168,366). The agency's Annual Report outlines a number of achievements during 2006-07:

• Providing treatment to 304,565 patients – a 1.4% increase on the previous year
• Of these, DHSV treated 125,781 patients directly, with the remainder being treated by community dental agencies and private sector providers
• The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne’s emergency department saw 17,951 patients – a 16.4% increase