Just over one-third of Australians are eligible for public dental services, which provide free or low-cost dental treatment.

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Yet demand for these services continues to exceed supply. As a result, many Australian adults face long waits for access, which can be up to three years in some states.

So what's going wrong with public dental care in Australia? And how can it be fixed?

Both the federal government and state and territory governments fund public dental services. These are primarily targeted at low-income Australians, including children, and hard-to-reach populations, known as priority groups.

Individuals and families bear a majority of the costs for dental services. They paid around 81 per cent (A$10.1 billion) of the cost for dental services in 2022-23, either directly through out-of-pocket expenses, or through private health insurance premiums.

The Commonwealth contributed 11 per cent to the cost of dental care, while the states and territories paid the remaining 8 per cent in 2022-23.

Just under half of Australian children are eligible for the means-tested Child Dental Benefits Schedule. This gives them access to $1132 of dental benefits over two years.

While children from low-income families tend to benefit from this scheme, critics have raised concerns about the low uptake. Only one-third use the dental program in........

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