Public dental non-urgent care wait list policy

Introduction

Eligible people contact public dental agencies seeking either routine or urgent care. People seeking urgent care are assessed using the Emergency Demand Management Strategy. Those people who are assessed through EDMS as NOT requiring urgent care can choose to be placed on the appropriate non-urgent care waiting list. People seeking routine care are also placed on the appropriate waiting list.

There are two waiting lists for non-urgent public dental care:

• General Waiting List
• Denture Waiting List.

People are treated in the order in which they have been placed on the list.
People requiring urgent care may choose to be placed on the General Waiting List, following their emergency treatment.

People who have been on the waiting list at one Victorian public dental clinic can transfer to another clinic’s waiting list without penalty. Their place on the waiting list at the new clinic is backdated to the date they were placed on the original waiting list.

Priority Access

Eligibility criteria and recall protocols for the Youth Dental Program, the Early Childhood Oral Health Program, School Dental Program and the Special Needs Programs are defined in the 2006-07 to 2008-09 Primary Health Policy and Funding Guidelines. People eligible for these programs have priority access to care, and are not to be placed on the General or Denture Care Waiting Lists. Priority access also applies to children and young people up to 18 years of age in residential care provided by the Office for Children

Summary of policy for general care and denture care

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Public dental non-urgent care wait list policy (520kb, pdf)

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