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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-21/push-to-include-dental-care-under-medicare-cover-in-australia/105543208>
'Queensland pensioner Don Batty has always looked after his teeth, but age has
taken its toll.
These days, the former NSW Police officer finds it hard to look in the mirror.
"I'm 80 years old now and my teeth have started to disintegrate," he told the
ABC.
"I'm very embarrassed by my teeth and I try not to smile because I frighten
people."
The Toowoomba resident is missing multiple molars, which makes it hard to chew
food.
His dental issues affect his diet, speech and confidence.
He has been living like this for nearly two years because he cannot afford to
visit a private dentist.
"It would be totally impossible.
"There is no way I can save enough money to spend the thousands that are
required to go to a private dentist."
Mr Batty is among 140,000 Queenslanders waiting for non-urgent public dental
care.
More than 10,000 patients have been added to the queue in the past year.
"I've been waiting now for about 21 months," Mr Batty said.
"We've got a very, very good dental service, but it's overwhelmed. There's no
way they can deal with the number of people in this city and surrounding towns
with the resources they've got."'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
