The Illawarra could miss out on the roll-out of the NSW Government’s $70 million free Primary School Mobile Dental Program announced during the 2019 election campaign, Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, said today.

The program is due to roll-out over the next four years with primary school children in Western Sydney, the Mid North Coast and the Central Coast among the first to benefit.

But it looks like the Illawarra region could miss out on the program altogether.

Mr Scully has been told by the Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, that the future of the roll-out would depend on an “…evaluation of the program to inform future Government decisions.”

The Primary School Mobile Dental Program would provide 35 new mobile dental clinics treating up to 136,000 primary school children annually.

At their first appointment, children will receive the following care (if clinically indicated and if parents have consented):

• a comprehensive examination;
• dental x-rays;
• dental clean;
• fluoride varnish application;
• fissure sealants.

Mr Scully said that he would be extremely disappointed if the Illawarra’s primary school children missed out on the free dental health care the NSW Government had promised would be delivered at the election.

“It appears that whether the Illawarra’s school children will benefit from the Primary School Mobile Dental Program will largely depend on the results of the evaluation in other parts of NSW.

“I am hoping that the program runs effectively so that our primary aged schools children don’t miss out on free dental health care”, he said.

The program will be delivered by experienced NSW Health staff, who will be using a combination of fully equipped dental vans and portable dental equipment set up on school grounds.