Labor puts the bite on rivals with free dental pitch

Free dental care has been promised for all Victorians under a major Labor state election policy.

In his first cost-of-living pitch to voters since becoming premier, Ben Carroll will on Saturday announce a plan to open 10 free public dental clinics if Labor is re-elected in November.

The policy, the first of its kind by an Australian state government, is slated to cost taxpayers $230 million over three years.

"I'm fighting for the tens of thousands of working people who can't afford to see a dentist," Mr Carroll said.

"This is not a one-off boost - it's structural cost-of-living support, and it's a national first."

Seven clinics have been earmarked for Melbourne, with three to be based in yet-to-be-announced regional locations.

No appointments will be required for adults or children, the government said.

Dedicated oral care clinicians would perform check-ups and procedures such as fillings, root canals and extractions.

The most urgent cases would have priority, including dental pain, swelling or cases following an accident.

The clinics, once up and running, are expected to see more 100,000 people a year with operating hours of 9am to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends.

The initiative builds on the Smile Squad program for students and has been modelled on urgent care clinics, established since 2022 to reduce hospital overcrowding caused by lack of bulk-billing services.

Most dental care is not covered by Medicare, with routine trips to the dentist leaving Australians hundreds of dollars out of pocket unless they have insurance.

More than 34,000 Australians were given approval to withdraw from their superannuation to pay for dental work in 2024/25, Australian Taxation Office data shows.

Under previous leader Adam Bandt, the federal Greens pushed for universal dental under Medicare.