Dentists say they are losing

Press, 6 September 1983, Page 19

Dentists say they are losing

PA Wellington Dentists say that they are losing under the price freeze because their fees have been held at last year’s level while their overheads have continued to rise. A national survey carried out last year by the Dental Association showed that a dentist’s average income had dropped 5.4 per cent from $33,714 to $31,898. If inflation was taken into account, the association

said, dentists’ incomes had effectively dropped 20 per cent. The association said that the cost of maintaining a one-man surgery had increased 20 per cent during the last year. This was because most materials were imported from hardcurrency markets such as West Germany, Japan, and the United States. The association said that the State-funded dental benefit scheme created a

further drain on dental incomes. It was three years since the Government had granted a fee increase under the scheme and before that increases had been marginal.

“For example, dentists receive $6 for a basic filling under the dental benefit scheme whereas an identical filling for a private patient now costs about $25,” said the association.