A lack of dentists in regional Australia is resulting in pharmacists reluctantly providing oral healthcare to communities.
A study by La Trobe University found a number of rural pharmacists in Victoria were shouldering health responsibilities far beyond traditional dispensing roles, offering oral hygiene advice, managing dental pain inquiries and promoting preventative care.
Professor Joseph Tucci said the research highlighted the need for targeted training, increased collaboration and clearer guidelines to deliver oral health advice safely and effectively in the regions.
Professor Tucci said while pharmacists stated they 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.”
Professor Tucci said few of the study participants felt confident conducting oral examinations due to inadequate equipment, limited privacy or consult areas and no formal training to deliver such services.
He said one pharmacist said: “There’s a need for it because dentists are a long way away but, being a small country pharmacy, we don’t have the staff to allocate time”.
“Another said ‘pharmacies don’t really have that facility and we don’t have those tools’.”
Professor Tucci said enhanced training and resources were the most discussed facilitators for pharmacists to be comfortable in performing limited oral examinations.
He said others suggested online training modules that could count towards continuing professional development requirements.
Read the full study: Evaluating and Expanding Rural Victorian Community Pharmacists Role in Providing Oral Healthcare.
