Waiting time for dental services

Public dental health care is available to eligible Victorians through Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV).

Waiting lists are used for clients who require routine dental care only. Those assessed as needing emergency care or priority clients (e.g. people experiencing homelessness, pregnant women or children up to the age of 12) are offered the next available appointment and are not placed on a wait list. In 2018-19, emergency and priority patients were approximately 80% of all public dental patients.

Waiting time is the time between the date the client was placed on the waiting list, and the date of the first appointment offered by the service.

Tap the buttons below for specific data about waiting time for dental services, including statewide averages for general, denture and specialist appointments.

Scroll down for more information about the data (measures).

About the data:

The above measures look at the average number of months clients have waited to be offered:

  • General dental care (e.g. routine examinations, cleaning, extractions)
  • Denture care
  • Priority denture care
  • Dental specialist appointment (e.g. prosthodontics, endodontic and orthodontic)
  • Other specialist dental services (e.g. patients with special needs, oral surgery, oral medicine, periodontics and paedodontics).

The 2023–24 and 2024-25 statewide targets for the average waiting times by dental service have not been finalised.

Notes