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Australians are visiting the dentist more often and reporting higher satisfaction, but affordability remains a major barrier to care. Looking forward, building trust and delivering preventive care is crucial for practices. By Angela Tufvesson
Patient satisfaction and visitation are improving, yet affordability remains a persistent barrier to dental care across Australia, according to NAB’s latest health insights report for dentists. It also reveals personalised care is highly valued and switching dentists has become more common.
John Avent, executive at NAB Health and CEO at Medfin Finance, says the findings show practices are making strong progress in the “fundamentals” and delivering quality care.
But with challenging economic conditions predicted to persist into the new financial year, he says “the focus needs to shift to how practices balance that clinical excellence with running a business in a higher cost environment”.
Cost a barrier to care
More Australians are going to the dentist, with visitation increasing from 50 per cent in 2024 to 55 per cent in 2025, according to the report. Overall satisfaction with dentists also improved. But 40 per cent of people are not visiting a dentist within the ADA recommended six to 12 months. Dentists were also the health practitioner Australians most felt they should have visited in the past year but didn’t, ahead of GPs, optometrists and specialist doctors.
Cost is the biggest contributing factor, cited by 57 per cent of people who had not visited a dentist in more than 12 months—a figure that has grown steadily.
The financial barrier is particularly acute in rural areas and among women. “The data shows cost is now the primary reason people delay or avoid visiting the dentist, which means demand is becoming more sensitive to broader economic conditions,” Avent explains.
Dr Mark Morrin, president of ADA NSW, says the visitation pattern has been evident for some time but is being “exacerbated by the tough economic conditions” facing patients. “Patients are becoming much more price sensitive,” he says, noting that practices are also experiencing growing financial pressures due to the high cost of staff wages, insurance, equipment and utilities.
Dr Morrin recommends practices adopt a strong focus on preventive care—facilitating regular check-ups and cleanings, preventive fluoride and patient education on oral health. Crucially, he says, this approach is cheaper for patients than “reactive models” and helps to build a loyal, sustainable client base for the practice. “It’s about having these services priced in a way that makes it attractive to the patient to value preventative models,” Dr Morrin says.
Deliver good value
Financial barriers are best addressed within a broader context, with the report finding that patients are seeking overall value for money from dental practices. It’s rated as more important than shorter waiting times or longer appointments. Patients want dentists to address their concerns and oral health needs and clearly communicate treatment plans and costs.
Give patients the reasons why you’re doing things to build that trust. It’s more of a ‘why’ than a ‘how’. We’ve moved past the old model where people sat in the chair and had no idea what was being done in their mouth, and then they’d get hit with a bill on the way out.
Dr Mark Morrin, president, ADA NSW
So important is value that it’s one of the key reasons patients cite for switching dentists. About one in 10 Australians have switched dentists in the past two to three years. Switching is more common among younger patients and those who live in capital and regional cities, but older patients will leave if the quality of care declines.
This highlights the importance of building patient loyalty through personalised care, which Avent says is “becoming one of the biggest differentiators in the market. Clinical care is a given, but what really drives loyalty is how patients experience that care—whether they feel listened to, understood and confident in what’s being recommended,” he notes.
Dr Morrin says patients who switch dentists because of cost are likely to return if their relationship with the practitioner is strong.
“If a person is happy and trusting of their practitioner, it takes quite a bit to switch. Usually, those people will come back if the relationship was there in the first place,” he says.
Build lasting trust
Ultimately, Dr Morrin says, it’s far easier to retain existing patients than to attract new patients. He says valuing, building and maintaining strong relationships is crucial for practices, especially given the challenging economic conditions.
“I’d really be concentrating on building good relationships. People will still come to the dentist if they value it. If you can improve the patient experience and patients see value in that patient experience, then that also becomes part of the cost equation,” Dr Morrin says.
He notes that trust is one of the most important factors in building lasting patient relationships. Every interaction, from the first phone call to the front desk greeting and the consultation itself, contributes to whether a patient feels comfortable and confident in a dentist’s care. Indeed, the report also highlights that the practice environment matters to the patient experience. Amenities like natural light and calming decor can help make visits more pleasant.
“The physical environment should be such that it is welcoming, right from the front desk when they have that first touch point of communication, whether that’s through the phone or physically, and continuity through the clinical space and then out,” Avent says.
Dr Morrin says clear communication about the care required is crucial for building trust. “Offering all the options for a patient, pricing them out and taking the time to discuss those options with people instead of having them rushed through—the whole patient experience has to be on point,” he says.
“Give patients the reasons why you’re doing things to build that trust. It’s more of a ‘why’ than a ‘how’. We’ve moved past the old model where people sat in the chair and had no idea what was being done in their mouth, and then they’d get hit with a bill on the way out.”
