Researchers from the University of Adelaide surveyed 446 mums-to-be who were pregnant with children of Aboriginal heritage over a three year period from regional and metropolitan SA.

Not only did they all suffer multiple dental issues, their issues were compounded by social problems such as unemployment with a 90 per cent jobless rate among the group. 

Most also couldn't pay a $100 bill for dental care.

Half of the participants were from Adelaide while half hailed from regional centres including from Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Mt Gambier.

The university is now calling for greater sensitivity towards Aboriginal women in dental clinics and improved accessibility to dental care.

Associate Professor Lisa Jamieson, Director of the Indigenous Oral Health Unit at Adelaide University, said the results were concerning.

“What was really apparent and we found quite horrifying was the amount of oral health impairment in the women,” she said.

“We were also gobsmacked to find that many private dentists just wouldn't accept Aboriginal patients and that’s something we are hoping to address,” she said.

Almost half of the participants did not own a car, more than one third had five or more people staying in their house, a large proportion already had four or more children and more than two-thirds of the women also cared for children who were not their own.

Of the 18 private dentists approached for the study, Professor Jamieson said five refused to see Aboriginal patients.

The Australian Dental Association SA branch has refuted any claims of discrimination.

Association president Jack Gaffey, who sighted the study, said other factors should have been addressed including other disadvantaged groups, which he said were overlooked.

“It doesn’t mean we should be insensitive towards [Aboriginal women] but what I am certain of with that paper was how it does not compare other groups,” he said.

“Dentistry needs to know how we measure different groups who require these services, as a whole, because it’s very difficult to engage”.

Results of the study also showed the women:

• were six times more likely to need a tooth extraction than those in the general population;

• were twice as likely to need fillings;

• more likely to visit the dentist because of dental pain;

• nearly two-thirds avoided dental care because of cost; and

• four out of every five women would have difficulty paying a $100 dental bill.

Mr Gaffey said payments are already significantly less for disadvantaged people.

"If a person is not paying their co-payments, for example $800 may mean they only pay $80, then we are going to go backwards," Mr Gaffey said.

Professor Jamieson said poor oral health in mothers could place developing and newborn children at risk.

"For example, pregnant women who have missing or sore teeth feel that they are unable to eat certain foods. This food avoidance means they're often not getting the nutrients they or their baby need," she said.

The study will be followed up with more in depth interviews and will be reviewed by the university’s Indigenous Oral Health Unit advisory committee.

The results have published in the current issue of the Australian Dental Journal.