A 12-fold increase in Australians raiding their retirement nest eggs to fund expensive dental treatments in recent years has been labelled a "systemic failure", with experts warning the problem will snowball unless governments invest more heavily in oral healthcare.
Public health researchers and the peak industry body have told the ABC the dramatic increase in early superannuation withdrawals for dental treatment point to "historical neglect" of the system, leading to cracks that have allowed exploitative dentists to flourish.
Data released this month by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) revealed 32,850 Australians successfully applied to withdraw from their super to pay for dental work last financial year — almost ten times the number of people compared to six years ago.
They withdrew $817.6 million for their teeth in 2024-25 compared to $66.4 million in 2018-19 — a more than 1,200 per cent increase.
Australian Dental Association president Chris Sanzaro said it was a concerning trend, exacerbated by long waiting lists in the public dental system.
"We see the significant increase in demand for this as driven because people are facing a cost of living crisis. They're unable to afford the treatment that they require," Dr Sanzaro said.
The inaccessibility of dental treatments and the ease of withdrawing super early for some people has also created a ripe environment for predatory practices, according to Ankur Singh, a public health researcher and chair of Lifespan Oral Health at the University of Sydney.
"A limited number of dentists and dental professionals from the industry are exploiting people who are experiencing social disadvantage for unnecessary procedures," he said.
"It's created by a system failure which is underpinned by a lack of an insurance around minimum oral health status for Australians, particularly the working age adults."
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the health regulator — the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) — earlier this month raised concerns about businesses encouraging the use of superannuation to pay for "overly expensive or unnecessary medical treatments".
'What I have can scarcely be called teeth'
After years of neglect because of a crippling dental phobia, Jon Biddell began to experience excruciating pain.
"I'd quite often wake up at night sweating and almost crying in my sleep … and I thought, 'damn, I've got to do something about this,'" the 66-year-old from Western Sydney said.
After seeing an advertisement on social media that spruiked using super as a means of payment, Mr Biddell withdrew almost $40,000 to fix his teeth in 2022.
The advertisement was for Supercare Dental and Cosmetics and the IT worker went for a consultation.
"The initial dentist I had was quite good … he came up with a treatment plan … and I thought, 'well, it's cheaper than all of the other places I've been to.'"
Supercare Dental and Cosmetics connected Mr Biddell with an early release agent who assisted him to lodge the paperwork with the ATO.
But by mid-last year, Mr Biddell was concerned that he was not getting the treatment he paid for.
It was not until he saw the ABC's reports about Supercare Dental and Cosmetics that he realised the business had collapsed.
Mr Biddell is now like hundreds of other former patients with diminished retirement funds and incomplete dental work.
"What I have been left with can scarcely be called teeth," he said.
Mr Biddell has four metal posts where his top teeth used to be and the few teeth left on the bottom are broken and crumbling.
"It's upsetting … I get angry about it," he said.
"It's completely destroyed my social life. I rarely go out and when I do I'll either wear a face mask or I've gotten in the habit of keeping my lips sort of fairly well covering my teeth."
For the ATO to approve the early withdrawal of super for dental treatment, two medical practitioners must verify it is necessary to help with issues like chronic pain or life-threatening injury.
Dr Sanzaro said while the majority of dentists did the right thing there was "inappropriate behaviour" by a small number of dentists who were "pushing the limits".
"There are a small number that appear evident on social media, pushing for this scheme to include inappropriate things such as cosmetically driven treatment as opposed to the purpose of it, which is for relief of chronic and acute pain," Dr Sanzaro said.
"One of the solutions to this problem is to improve public funding for dentistry."
A spokeswoman for Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said withdrawing superannuation early was only available in "extremely limited circumstances".
"Treasury is monitoring the increase in the number of individuals that are releasing super early for medical treatment, including for dental care and along with regulators, including the ATO and AHPRA, is closely monitoring medical practitioners and/or third-party intermediaries who are engaging in conduct to facilitate the release of superannuation in a manner that is concerning," she said.
'Changed my life for the better'
While Mr Biddell has been left struggling to chew his food properly, administration worker Anne Harris could not be happier with how her decision turned out.
The 56-year-old from the Hunter region of NSW said her teeth were perfect as a child but deteriorated in her 20's.
"They went a bit chalky and a bit funny and broke a little bit easier," Ms Harris said.
"I had a fear of dentists from previous experiences so tried to stay away from them as much as I could."
Ms Harris eventually had to get an upper denture but it caused her to gag, and eventually became almost unwearable.
"I couldn't wait to get it out," she said.
"COVID was a godsend for me as I could go to work, wear a mask, and not have my teeth in."
In 2022, Ms Harris saw an advertisement for dental implants on social media and decided to join a webinar and have a free consultation with a Sydney dental clinic.
She accessed $66,450 of her superannuation to pay for dental implants for her top and bottom teeth.
Ms Harris said the dentist put her in touch with an early release company and she felt informed in making the decision.
"I was a single mum … when I retire, I don't need to have a lot of money … I know how to, you know, save and scrimp and live on a basic wage.
"I just thought, well, you know, future Anne can worry about that."
Just over two years since she got her new teeth, Ms Harris said she was healthier and the teeth were worth every cent.
"It's just changed my life for the better."
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