How Australia’s ‘unfair’ dental system – and the way $1.3bn is spent – is driving inequality and leaving millions of people behind

Untreated dental decay is on the rise and record numbers of Australians are turning up to hospitals for dental procedures, experts say. Composite: Guardian design/Getty images

Patients bear the brunt of dentist fees. But of the $1.3bn the federal government spends on the nation’s teeth, more than half goes to subsidising the uptake of private health insurance.

The inequality of Australia’s dental care system can be seen in the numbers, says Peter Breadon, the health program director at the Grattan Institute.