The Federal Government’s $2.7 billion Grow Up Smiling dental program will be ready to roll out from January next year.

Following the tabling of the program’s operation rules, Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said that states and territories would now have to back the scheme by continuing their own dental health funding.

Ms Plibersek said the aim of the program was to arrest the decline in oral health outcomes for children that had been apparent since the 1990s. 

“Recent research by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare shows that more than 47 per cent of Australian 12-year-olds have some decay in their permanent teeth, of which almost half is untreated,” the Minister said. 

“Grow Up Smiling will target children between the ages of two and 17 years, particularly in lower income families. This is because statistics show that socio-economic status is closely linked to the risk of oral disease.

“The program will help alleviate this social and economic disadvantage by assisting families in greater financial need with the costs of their children’s basic dental treatment.”

Mr Plibersek said that under Grow Up Smiling, eligible children will have access to dental benefits capped at $1000 over two calendar years.

“This will help pay for basic dental care, such as check-ups, x-rays, fillings and extractions” she said. 

“Investment in our children is an investment in the future. We know that poor childhood oral health leads to poor adult oral health. Grow Up Smiling will assist children to maintain their oral health now and provide the foundation for good oral health as they grow.”