Could pharmacists fill the gap in rural oral healthcare?

Pharmacists are stepping in as frontline providers of oral healthcare advice in rural Victorian towns without dental practitioners, offering oral hygiene advice, managing dental pain inquiries and promoting preventative care, according to a new study by La Trobe University. Eleven rural pharmacists shouldering health responsibilities far beyond traditional dispensing roles participated in the study, which calls for targeted training, increased collaboration and clearer guidelines to help them deliver oral health advice safely and effectively. Data from a 2021 National Pharmacy Survey revealed Australians on average visit a community pharmacist 18 times a year, while only 48 per cent of the population consulted a dental practitioner in the last 12 months. Pharmacists reported offering oral health advice up to three times a week, often in response to customer concerns and script presentations. Their support for long-term oral health extended to a variety of areas, such as encouraging twice-daily brushing with fluoridated tooth paste, using fluoridated mouthwash, smoking cessation and dietary advice. Professor Joseph Tucci, pharmacy discipline lead at La Trobe’s Rural Health School, said while pharmacists were eager to offer oral health advice, time constraints and operating as a single pharmacist limited their ability to do so. “In regions where dentists are absent, pharmacists are often the first and only line of healthcare,” he said. “With structured support, they can play a more confident and collaborative role in preventing and addressing oral health issues.” Few participants felt confident conducting oral examinations due to inadequate equipment, limited privacy or consult areas and no formal training to deliver such services. Enhanced training and resources were the most discussed facilitators for pharmacists to be comfortable in performing limited oral examinations. Others suggested online training modules that could count towards continuing professional development requirements. The study also highlighted a lack of collaboration with dental professionals, largely due to the absence of dentists in rural towns and no established referral pathways. Rural pharmacist from Clunes, Kellie Saunders, said pharmacists in rural areas could be the answer to addressing gaps in access to oral healthcare advice by expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice and training. "In a rural setting often the community pharmacies the only consistently available healthcare service," she said. "What we see in our community pharmacy, and not just in the oral health space, is that people are coming to us first and foremost for a bit of advice or reassurance or to see if they need to try and see a doctor or dentist. "In terms of oral health that looks like people coming in with acute presentations like a toothache or chip tooth or some kind of dental pain that they'd like to address. "I would feel comfortable if I had further training to provide better oral health service and then tie that in with liaising with some other dentists and a referral pathway." Ms Saunders said financial barriers in accessing oral health care are a significant barrier that doesn't just apply to rural communities. "We all know that the dental appointments aren't often very cheap, and unfortunately across the board people with health issue are wanting advice and pharmacists have always been well trusted and a very accessible source of information," she said.

Could pharmacists fill the gap in rural oral healthcare?

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