The organisation took over the public Sturt St clinic from Dental Health Services Victoria in May, 2008.

In just over 18 months it has reduced the wait for dental care by 10 months and for dentures by 22 months.

However, until three new staff members start in time for a February 20 blitz, the waiting time for something as basic as a filling is still 43 months, and for dentures, 22 months. This is too long.

Oral health is strongly linked to overall health and it is wrong, in 2010, to ask someone to wait more than three years for a simple dental procedure.

And while a missing tooth may not cause pain it could be the difference, for some, between gaining employment or receiving another rejection letter.

There is also the issue of self-esteem.

Perhaps it is time dental care was placed in the same category as health care, with those unable to afford private cover being given the safety net of a system like Medicare.

While some dental procedures would fall outside the limits of what the community would expect its taxes to be used for, there must be a widening gap between those with enough to provide necessary dental care - and those without.

How does a parent explain to a child that braces are not, and will never be, an option.

BHS chief executive officer Andrew Rowe says that the clinic, private dentists and the state government are all committed to improving the health of the community through faster, more convenient dental care.

That should be a given and somehow, it should have happened sooner.