Young Australians are delaying dental care because they cannot afford it, and some are turning to DIY dentistry as social media shapes how they manage their oral health. That’s the hard reality sitting underneath all the polished talk about “health choices.” When a basic appointment becomes a luxury, people start making do with whatever the internet throws at them.
Who Pays When Care Becomes a Luxury
University student Ava Veres said she had seen "whitening hacks" and ads for whitening strips online, and said some of her friends had considered buying them recently. Veres, a business and drama student, said she had started getting pain from her wisdom teeth but could not afford to book a dental appointment for advice. "I have been dreading even looking at that because it's just not really on the cards for me," she said. "Now I'm living in a share house by myself in Brisbane so it's a little bit different [to living at home]. Expenses are on me now."
That’s the hierarchy in plain sight. Young people are left to juggle rent, food, and pain while the system treats dental care like an optional extra. The Australian Dental Association said 60 per cent of adults aged 18 to 25 are making decisions about dental health through social media, and its vice president Angie Nilsson said that includes getting veneers and aligners for cosmetic reasons and ordering whitening products that could damage teeth.
Nilsson said it is not something the association recommends doing without a registered dental practitioner advising and ensuring people are getting the right product, the right concentration and that it is in line with Australian regulations. The warning lands with a thud because the market has already done its work: sell the product first, worry about the damage later.
What the Survey Found
The ADA's latest national consumer survey, released on Friday, found 60 per cent of adults in the 18 to 25-year-old age bracket have had wisdom tooth-related issues such as pain, swelling, crowding, infection and discomfort. The number was higher in remote areas, at 65 per cent, than in metropolitan areas, at 59 per cent. The burden isn’t evenly spread, and the numbers show it. People far from the big-city clinics are carrying even more of the pain.
Nilsson, who practises dentistry in public clinics in northern NSW, said wisdom teeth did not always need to be removed but it was "really important" to talk to a dentist about how to manage any problems. "It can escalate, you can get infection, there can be issues involved with bone affecting other teeth — so it's important not just to let it go and hope that it gets better," she said.
Nilsson said many young adults were "falling through the cracks" when it came to oral health care because they were at an age where they had moved out of home and sometimes come off their parents' private health insurance. "Unfortunately, many are delaying dental visits until something goes wrong, and by then the problem is often more painful, more complex, and more expensive to treat," she said. "If you catch things early on, it's going to be less painful in your pocket, less painful in your mouth."
The Reform Pitch Meets the Price Tag
Law student Ryan Quigley said going to the dentist was something he had thought about, but it was "not the highest priority" because of his other living expenses. "It definitely needs to become more affordable, especially for young people making the transition, like myself, out of home, to make it more affordable, make it more accessible and then that'll improve overall dental health for everyone," he said. His friend, finance student Maksim Krilov, said general dental check-ups were too expensive for a lot of young people. "Medicare, in general, I think needs to cover more," he said.
That’s the reform trap in miniature. People are told to wait for the system to widen access, while the bills keep landing on their kitchen tables. The Australian Greens’ dental spokesperson, West Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John, said the party continued to push for "the mouth to be treated as part of the body" by including dental care in the publicly funded Medicare system. "For decades dentists, experts, community advocates and The Greens have been calling for the reform that's needed, bringing dental care into Medicare and yet we've seen government after government fail to take the action that is needed," he said. "The Labor government just has not done enough in this area."
A spokesperson for the Albanese government said the government "recognises that oral health is fundamental to overall health, wellbeing and quality of life". The spokesperson said the government continues to make a significant funding contribution through the National Health Reform Agreement for public hospital services, including hospital-based dental treatment, and said the Commonwealth was "working closely with states and territories" to develop a new National Oral Health Plan.
Social Media, Sports, and the Damage Done
The ADA survey also found only 38 per cent of young adults who played a high-impact sport were wearing mouthguards, and 13 per cent of young adults had experienced a sports-related injury involving their teeth or mouth. Nilsson said, "The damage that can be done by not having a custom-made mouth guard from a dental practitioner, it could be devastating."
Nilsson also said good daily oral health care could help prevent problems. "Brushing twice a day for two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste is key. Spit don't rinse is a good one — because then you get a layer of the toothpaste on there," she said.
The survey was conducted in November 2025 via focus groups, phone interviews and online surveys and had 25,000 respondents aged 18 and older. Last year's survey focused on the oral health of children. The pattern is familiar: the institutions count the damage after the fact, then offer guidance, plans, and promises while the costs stay where they’ve always been — at the bottom.