Charting our progress

When Filling the Gap began in January 2006 we had two volunteers, one from Sydney and one from Melbourne. Since then we have grown from strength to strength.

By early 2010, Filling the Gap had recruited over 125 dental professionals from across Australia, who have provided more than 6,000 episodes of care. The original 12-month wait to see a dentist at Wuchopperen Health Service has long gone and for most of 2008 and 2009 there has been the equivalent of a full time dental service provided (Fig 1).

The Mobile Dental Clinic has also been able to start providing services to communities for example on the Atherton Tablelands and Innisfail.

Fig 1 Weeks of care provided by dental volunteers

Since our inception there has been a steady and progressive increase in the number of volunteers with a corresponding increase in the number of patients treated. The number of procedures performed (Fig 2) has grown with advances in comprehensive treatment planning, resulting in more restorative and preventive treatment (Fig 3).

Fig 2 Frequency of selected types of care 2006 – 2009

Fig 3 Comparison of types of care 2006 - 2009

"The flow-on effect on people’s health as a result of dentists providing service to Indigenous communities, will be profound.” Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver, University of New South Wales.