General Health Information

A message from a survey report on dental health for the elderly,
presented to politicians by dental and aging organizations showed that
gum disease has been a growing problem among older Australians and
funds spent on tackling it would save more taxpayers’ money than it
would cost. It was found out that 54 per cent of Australians over 65
have gum disease - more than double the rate of younger people (25 per
cent). It mentioned that gum disease, also known as periodontal
disease, was linked to a range of medical conditions, including heart
disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and pancreatic cancer. The
cost of poor dental health associated with these conditions has been
put at $412million a year. The report, moreover, also found that it
would save $714million by avoiding the need to treat the health consequences of gum disease,
creating an overall saving of $42million. Extending dental entitlements
in this way is taking the big role in improving dental health for a
large mass of people.