About 15,000 adults are waiting for general dental care in Tasmania - the state with the worst rate of tooth loss in the country.
And the median wait time for the group was almost four years, according to a state audit office report examining public treatment provided by Oral Health Services Tasmania.
The island state has the worst prevalence of tooth loss in Australia, with 22 per cent of adults having fewer than 21 of their 32 natural teeth.
Only 71 per cent of adults have received a check-up in the past two years, the second worst nationwide behind the Northern Territory.
The report found emergency treatment provided to children and adults was timely but the service struggled to meet demand for non-urgent general care.
"The number of adults waiting for non-urgent treatment consistently remained at or around 15,000 for most of 2023," the report said.
The state's funding model for oral health services was weighted towards treatment rather than prevention, the report found.
The number of appointments provided by the services since 2020 was significantly lower compared to pre-pandemic levels, despite the number of dental professionals remaining relatively unchanged.
Health Minister Guy Barnett has pledged to work with his government department to implement the report's six recommendations.
These include investigating ways to increase funding for early intervention and preventative activity to help reduce demand for treatment.
The report found access to public dental health services was negatively affected by Tasmania's older population and a higher rate of dependence on social welfare.
The report did not assess private dental services.
The service was complimented for increasing transparency of payment plans and addressing geographic and transport barriers.
A senate inquiry into dental care across Australia in November found public services were overstretched, understaffed and wait times for non-urgent care stood at 12 to 24 months.
As a result, 40 per cent of Australians avoided or delayed seeing a dentist.
