Several towns in Western Australia’s Murchison region are urging the state government to urgently restore mobile dental clinic services, which have been absent since 2023.
Communities such as Meekatara, Mount Magnette, Cooee, Sandstone, and Yargu have previously relied on annual visits from the state government’s mobile dental teams. However, Yargu CEO Ian Holland said they haven’t had a dental checkup in nearly two years.
“Our children haven’t had any dental checkups in nearly three years,” Mr. Holland said, explaining that residents now have to travel 500 kilometers to Geraldton or 620 kilometers to Meekatara for preventive care.
“Unless someone is in excruciating pain, it’s unreasonable for a family to drive 300 to 500 kilometers, sometimes overnight, just for a routine checkup,” he added. Mr. Holland said he wrote to the Minister of Health requesting a response, but the only explanation he received was the difficulty recruiting dental staff.
The town of Kwe, 195 kilometers northeast of Yargoo, is also struggling with a lack of dental services. Richard Towell, principal of Kwe Primary School, emphasized that the lack of fluoridated drinking water in the Murchison region puts children at higher risk of dental problems.
“Our children are already disadvantaged by fluoride deficiency. The mobile dental clinic should be reinstated as soon as possible—given the remote location, visits should be more frequent than once a year. Quarterly is more appropriate,” he said.
New dental van delayed
Last November, the local council learned that a larger, upgraded dental van was under construction and expected to be operational in early 2025 after testing in Perth. However, the Department of Health confirmed in a recent letter to local councillor Sean Love that the delays were due to manufacturing issues and ongoing staffing shortages.
Western Australia’s Health Minister Meredith Hammatt stated that the new mobile dental clinic is nearing completion and will complement the fixed dental clinic at Mikatara Hospital.
But Mr. Love said families in the area are frustrated by the repeated delays. “They don’t understand why their communities and schoolchildren aren’t being prioritized,” he said. “Why is this old car just being scrapped?”
He stressed that many Murchison residents, including a large Indigenous population, face significant social and economic barriers and cannot afford to travel long distances to see a dentist.
“Dental services must be a priority,” Mr. Love said. “We need to restore this service immediately—certainly before the end of the year—so families can plan and ensure their children receive the same level of care as everyone else across the state.”