Dental and oral health students from the University of Sydney are helping to close the gap in the rural dental sector by taking part in clinical placements across rural New South Wales.
Each year, around 50 dental and oral health students volunteer for placements in rural dental clinics, providing free care to local residents while developing their skills in a more complex environment.
So far this year 30 students have already completed placements at clinics in locations including Bathurst, Mudgee and Warilla. A further 20 students have now started placements in Broken Hill, Ballina, Nowra and Kempsey.
Rural communities face significant barriers in trying to access timely and affordable dental care, with major cities having more than three times the number of dentists compared to remote and very remote areas.
People living in rural areas often travel vast distances to reach a dentist, with over 100,000 estimated to live an hour or more away from their nearest dental practice. Over the course of each year, the students provide more than a thousand patients living in rural NSW with care.
“There are big workforce challenges in rural dental care which is why the rural dental placement program is so important,” A/Prof Shaline King from the School of Dentistry said.
“Students have the opportunity to learn new skills and develop their practice while providing much-needed free care to people living in remote areas.
“We are very proud of our students and the contribution they make to the community, and grateful to rural communities for being so welcoming.”
The rural dental placement program is supported through the Federal Government’s Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Grant, with additional funding from NSW Health for the clinical placements in Broken Hill.
