The Australian Dental Association (ADA) recently voiced its support for the findings of a Grattan Institute report into the effects of sugary drinks titled ‘Sickly sweet’. The report highlighted improvements in oral health seen in several countries around the globe that have introduced a levy on sugary drinks. The AAPD wholeheartedly seconds the ADA’s welcoming of this report.
ADA welcomes call for sugar tax as sickly sweet
Australian Dental Association (ADA) President Dr Scott Davis welcomes the Grattan Institute’s report, Sickly sweet, which reiterates the ADA’s call for the introduction of a levy on sugary drinks.
Dr. Scott Davis
Dr. Scott Davis is the principal clinician at Davis Dental, practicing in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie. He earned his Bachelor of Dentistry from the University of Sydney in 1984 and has since built a distinguished career in both clinical practice and academia. After establishing his own practice in Perth in 1988, Dr. Davis pursued a Master’s degree in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Western Australia. He later served as a Senior Lecturer at UWA, specializing in prosthodontics.
In 1997, Dr. Davis moved to the NSW North Coast, where he became a Consultant Prosthodontist, offering advanced dental care in several communities. With a wealth of experience in complex prosthodontic cases, Dr. Davis is also an accomplished lecturer, having shared his expertise across Australia and internationally. In 2023, he was elected President of the Federal Australian Dental Association, a role that allows him to influence dental policy while continuing his dedicated practice in Port Macquarie.
“Australia must implement a tax on sugary drinks to not only curb the country’s obesity crisis but importantly to slow down the rate of tooth decay,” said Dr Davis, a NSW prosthodontist.”
“As we know from numerous research studies and as made clear by this Grattan report, sugary drink taxes have led to improvements in oral health in several countries around the globe which have already instituted a levy on sugary drinks.”
The ADA has been calling on the Australian Government for many years to introduce a levy on sugary drinks that would then provide funding for targeted oral health programs, as outlined in the ADA’s Dental Health Plan. The nation’s oral health has been declining – the ADA’s Adult Oral Health Tracker 1 demonstrates that almost one-third of Australian adults have tooth decay with an almost 7% increase between 2004-06 and 2017-18.
Also just this year, the ADA highlighted in the ADA’s Children and Young People Oral Health Tracker 2 , the number of Australian children captured in data for potentially preventable hospitalisations due to dental disease has also continued to rise. As of 2021-22, 10.8 per 1,000 children aged 5-9 years were hospitalised due to potentially preventable dental disease. This is a problem which was directly addressed by the introduction of a levy in the UK, which led to a 12 per cent reduction in hospital admissions for removal of decayed teeth in children.
“As long as our government drags its feet, Australia will remain behind the 100 plus countries around the world which have taken the step to combat sugar consumption via sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Dr Davis.
