Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to be the good tooth fairy

EVERY Australian would have their dental bills subsidised by the government under a $3.6 billion Denticare scheme.

The Rudd Government's Health Reform Commission says it should be paid for by increasing the Medicare levy by 0.75 per cent.

That would cost an average wage-earner on $60,000 an extra $450 a year.

Denticare would cover check-ups, fillings and dentures.

The commission says it is inexcusable that our health system does not subsidise basic dental health services and that one-in-three adults avoid the dentist because of the cost. About 650,000 low-income earners are waiting for public dental care - a queue the commission says is not supportable in a country as wealthy as Australia.

The Denticare scheme would not roll dental services into Medicare.

Instead it would give people the choice of using a private health insurance plan subsidised by the government to cover their dental costs, or rely on public dental services, which would also be funded by the government.

About 45 per cent of Australians have private health insurance cover for dental services.

Under the reforms, Denticare would pay the health fund premiums for a universal package of basic dental services.