14 August 2025
A Queensland research project investigating visits to emergency departments (EDs) for paediatric dental concerns aims to reduce these visits and make it easier for families to access preventative dental healthcare.
In July 2025, a major Australian Dental Association (ADA) survey of 25,000 parents revealed that about 1 in 5 children only brush once a day, three-quarters don’t floss and almost 30% drink fruit juice every day—despite most parents knowing it contributes to decay.
Alarmingly, 1 in 3 children’s first dental visit only happens when there is a problem, far later than the ADA’s recommendation.
Oral health therapist Leah Hobbs understands these issues well and emphasises that such gaps in routine care drive preventable tooth decay, increasing avoidable pain, trauma and visits to EDs.
“Our research has confirmed that some visits to Queensland public hospital EDs were for potentially preventable hospitalisations in children, and we are investigating why this is happening.
“We started by analysing the number and type of dental concerns among children who attended 8 Metro South EDs and satellite sites,” Leah said.
“The data showed there were over 1,500 dental-related visits to the sites between May 2018 and June 2024, with children as young as 1 attending EDs for dental-related concerns. We were shocked to see that more than 70% of these 1,500 visits were for preventable issues.
“We found the types of issues ranged from periapical abscess (infection around the tooth root) to chronic gingivitis, which is a disease which can be cared for in many instances at home with proper oral hygiene practices.
“Children can be challenging to treat in the ED if extensive dental disease is present and referral for treatment under general anaesthetic is the last option for care. Attending the ED for dental concerns can also be traumatic for children and families.
“We are now quantifying the costs of these visits and using surveys and interviews to identify what has led families to use the ED,” Leah said. “In Australia, children from lower socioeconomic families and those who identify as First Nations are more likely to attend EDs for dental concerns.
“However, Metro South offers free preventative dental care for children up to Year 10, so cost should not be a barrier. By conducting further research, we hope to understand what’s driving this behaviour.
“We want to arm ourselves with evidence to co-design a model of dental care that’s accessible, effective and limits dental-related visits to EDs.
“The Metro South research navigators and the Centre for Functioning and Health Research team have been very helpful, connecting us with relevant health professionals and supporting us through ethics processes and approvals,” Leah said.
“Our multidisciplinary research team includes doctors like Dr Julian Wong at Logan ED, nurses, health economists, and researchers committed to improving outcomes for these children and their families.
“For clinicians, patients always take priority, and it is challenging to find time for research. Research navigators and research workforce development officers support clinicians juggling the clinical and research load.
“People in these roles are familiar with the ins and outs of conducting research projects across hospitals, health services and communities. They can help streamline the process and keep the project moving forward while we focus on patient care. And they are as committed to improving patient outcomes as we are.
“Ultimately, we are all passionate about keeping children out of EDs for preventable dental issues. Creating a model that achieves this will ease the burden of care on families, clinicians and Queensland’s health system.
The following hospitals and sites are involved in this research: Princess Alexandra, Queen Elizabeth II, Logan, Redlands, Beaudesert, Redlands Satellite Health Centre, Eight Mile Plains Satellite Health Centre and Gunda-Pa Community Centre.
This project was presented at the Logan and Beaudesert Health Service Research Symposium in June 2025 and exemplifies research translation in practice. Metro South Health is a partner of Health Translation Queensland.
Receive our eNewsletter
Connect with us
Quicklinks
Health Translation Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which we live, work, and play. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their Descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.
