Paper Petition

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of
Queensland.

The Petition of residents of the state of Queensland draws to the
attention of the House that long waiting lists for dental care are
reaching intolerable levels. Since the Federal Government pulled out of
the Commonwealth Dental Health Program at the end of 1996, the State have
had to fill in the gap in public dental care. The practice of dentistry
is currently regulated under the Queensland Dental Act 1971, with the
extent and conditions under which allied oral health professionals are
permitted to practice dentistry, being prescribed under the Dental By-law
1998. This dental legislation is currently under review to meet the
Government’s obligation under National Competition Policy.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to allow dental and oral
health therapists to also treat adults rather than being restricted to
children and youth under 18 years. If dental therapists perform the
routine dental treatments, dentists’ time could be freed up for the more
advanced and specialised treatments. For adults, dental and oral health
therapists would only carry out treatment for which they have been
trained, after an initial examination by a dentist and under prescription
by a dentist.