In some remote towns in Victoria where there are no dentists, pharmacists are gradually becoming the main source of oral health advice for residents.
A new study conducted by La Trobe University shows that these pharmacists are going beyond traditional dispensing duties to proactively provide oral care advice, respond to toothache consultations, and promote preventive health education.
The study has been published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health and interviewed 11 pharmacists from rural areas.
The study emphasizes that in the face of the reality of scarce medical resources, pharmacists bear important health responsibilities and urgently need systematic training, strengthened cooperation with dental professionals, and more clear operational guidelines to ensure that they can effectively provide oral health services within a safe range.
One pharmacist interviewed lamented: “There is nothing in town except us.” This sentence reveals that they have become the only accessible medical support for residents in areas where the nearest dental clinic is more than 20 minutes away by car.
The 2021 National Pharmacy Survey shows that Australians visit community pharmacies 18 times a year on average, and only 48% of people have seen a dentist in the past year. This data highlights the important role of pharmacists in public health.
Pharmacists interviewed said they provide oral care advice up to three times a week, usually in response to pain expressed by customers or prescription needs.
The support they provide covers daily oral hygiene habits, such as brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, using mouthwash, quitting smoking and eating a healthy diet.
Professor Joseph Tucci, head of pharmacy at the School of Rural Health at La Trobe University, pointed out: “In areas without dentists, pharmacists are often the first or even the only health care workers that residents can contact.
If they are given systematic support, they will play a more confident and collaborative role in oral health prevention and intervention.”
The study also pointed out that lack of collaboration with dentists remains a major challenge, mostly because there are no dentists or formal referral mechanisms in the local area.
This also highlights the urgency of establishing an inter-professional collaboration network to better serve the oral health needs of rural residents.