A group of around 20 people calling themselves “The Toothbrushers” have gathered at Deloraine’s Pocket Park to push for dental care to be included in Medicare. Before meeting in public, the group met around kitchen tables across the Meander Valley with straws, scraps of foam and leftover house paint to make toothbrush props.
“I live locally and I believe passionately in healthcare,” says Jane Phillips, one of the organisers behind the effort. “I’m aware that Tasmania has one of the worst dental health records in Australia. So we are just a bunch of people looking to make change. We just think this is something that everybody should be really interested in – their health.”
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For Phillips, the issue is not cosmetic but systemic. “We now know from research that oral health really affects our ongoing health, our heart. So why not have dental covered by Medicare?” she says.
Her husband, Harry, seized on the concept with enthusiasm. “My husband, Harry, got very excited about making these toothbrushes,” she says, laughing. What followed was less a strategy session and more a community workshop. “We had a working bee last Saturday or Sunday, and most of these people came. We had a template and then we just hung about giggling and laughing. Had some food and drink. Cup of tea or coffee and made these.”
The toothbrush props themselves are improvised. “They’re just straws, pieces of foam and paint leftover from painting activities at the house,” Phillips explains.
The group’s ambitions are modest but hopeful. “We’re hoping that other people all over Tasmania might be interested and make some themselves and just gather momentum,” Phillips says. “It’s really about raising the idea and gathering support.”
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She believes the idea would resonate widely. “I’m sure if we talk to lots of people walking up and down the street, they would say, this issue is really important.”
Peter Breadon, the Health Program Director at Grattan Institute says that “By capping funding for each patient, excluding cosmetic and orthodontic treatments, and using efficient workforce models, the cost [for dental coverage in Medicare] would be about $8 billion a year.”
For now, The Toothbrushers are focused less on legislative detail and more on building a sense of connection. “People can chat with us. We have a little flyer,” Phillips said of those who may want to get involved.
“I think we did this workshop just for fun and community building,” she adds. “So we really believe in this. It’s really good to do something for your community.”
Phillips and her fellow Toothbrushers are hoping that a simple idea can spark a broader conversation about health, and the place of dentistry in Australia’s public system.
