If you need an interpreter at the dentist, ask for one at the moment you book, not when you arrive. Language support has to be arranged in advance, and the difference between a booked interpreter and an improvised one is the difference between understanding your treatment and nodding along to it. In the 2021 Census, 21.7 percent of Australians spoke a language other than English at home, across more than 350 identified languages, and 872,206 of them reported difficulty speaking English. That is not a small group, and dentistry asks people to consent to things that are hard to explain even in a first language.
This article is about language access. Access for people who are Deaf, hard of hearing or vision impaired involves a different set of arrangements, and our guide to dental visits with a sensory impairment covers that side, including Auslan interpreting and practical adjustments in the surgery.
Key takeaways
- Ask about language support when you book. It cannot usually be organised on the spot.
- TIS National is the Australian Government translating and interpreting service. Members of the public can call it on 131 450.
- NSW Health policy treats the use of relatives, friends, children or untested bilingual staff as a breach of standard procedure and of the duty of care in public health services.
- Children should never interpret for a parent at a health appointment, for reasons that have nothing to do with how good their English is.
- Whether private dental practices can access the free interpreting schemes is not clear cut, so check with TIS National rather than assuming.
- Half of Melrose Park households used a language other than English at home in the 2021 Census, so this is an everyday question locally, not an unusual one.
How common this is, locally
National figures set the scene. In the 2021 Census the largest languages other than English were Mandarin at 2.7 percent of the population, Arabic at 1.4 percent, Vietnamese at 1.3 percent, Cantonese at 1.2 percent and Punjabi at 0.9 percent. Around 3.4 percent of Australians spoke another language at home and spoke English not well or not at all.
Locally the picture is much more concentrated. In the 2021 Census, 56.4 percent of people in the City of Parramatta local government area used a language other than English at home, with Mandarin the largest single language at 12.4 percent. In Melrose Park itself, the 2021 figures were Mandarin 9.8 percent, Korean 7.7 percent, Cantonese 5.5 percent, Arabic 2.3 percent and Persian 1.4 percent, and 51.0 percent of households used a language other than English, against 29.5 percent for New South Wales and 24.8 percent for Australia.
Two honest caveats. Those are 2021 numbers and they are labelled as such throughout. Melrose Park has had a large residential build out since then, so the real mix today is likely to be different, probably more varied rather than less.
What TIS National is
TIS National is the Translating and Interpreting Service run by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. It provides interpreters in a very large number of languages, by phone and in person. Members of the public can call 131 450 and ask to be connected to an interpreter, who can then speak with an organisation on their behalf.
There are also funded schemes that sit on top of that. A Free Interpreting Service exists for private medical practitioners, defined as general practitioners, nurse practitioners, endorsed midwives and approved medical specialists providing Medicare rebatable services. A separate Free Interpreting Service for allied health professionals is funded by the Department of Health at just under two million dollars across a four year funding period, and it is available only in 32 local government areas identified as having low English proficiency.
Where the honest gap is
It could not be confirmed that dentists are an eligible discipline for either free stream. The private medical stream names general practitioners, nurse practitioners, midwives and specialists. The allied health stream is limited both by discipline and by local government area, and it is not confirmed whether the City of Parramatta is one of the 32 approved areas. Plenty of pages online state flatly that dentists get free interpreters through TIS National. Treat that as unverified. The reliable move is to ring TIS National on 131 450 and ask about your own situation, and to ask the dental practice what language support it can arrange when you book.
Why a family member is not a substitute
This is the part that surprises people, because using a bilingual adult child feels helpful and free. NSW Health policy directive PD2017_044 states that using relatives, friends, children or untested bilingual staff is a breach of the standard procedures and of the duty of care, and could result in legal action. Its stated reasons are worth reading slowly: emotional involvement, untested language ability, no medical terminology, breach of the patient confidentiality, and no guarantee of impartiality.
In practice, all five of those show up in a dental surgery. A daughter who is worried about her mother softens bad news. A husband answers a question about pain on his wife behalf because he thinks he knows the answer. A friend who speaks the language fluently has never had to say the words for local anaesthetic, root canal or periodontal pocket, so they substitute something approximate. And a patient who wants to raise something private, about alcohol, about a medicine they have stopped taking, about money, will simply not raise it in front of a family member.
The research supports the same conclusion, though it comes almost entirely from hospitals rather than dental practices. Karliner and colleagues, writing in Health Services Research in 2007, found that professional interpreters make fewer interpretation errors than ad hoc interpreters, and that ad hoc use is associated with lower patient satisfaction, impaired communication and significant medical errors.
Who is interpreting, and what it costs you
| Who is interpreting | What can go wrong | When it is acceptable | Better option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional interpreter, in person or by phone | Little. Occasional delays, and a phone line can be awkward with a mask and suction running | Any appointment involving consent, a treatment plan, a medical history or a cost discussion | This is the better option. Book it in advance |
| Bilingual staff member at the practice | Language ability is untested, clinical terminology may be missing, and the staff member has another job to do at the same time | Short, low stakes exchanges such as directions, appointment times or reminders | A professional interpreter for anything clinical, with the staff member helping the appointment run smoothly |
| Adult family member or friend | Emotional involvement, filtering of bad news, answers given on the patient behalf, and no confidentiality for private matters | A genuine emergency where waiting for an interpreter would delay urgent care | A booked interpreter, with the family member present as support rather than as the voice |
| A child | All of the above, plus the burden of carrying adult medical information and the risk of blaming themselves if something goes wrong | Never for clinical content. This is the clearest line in the whole table | A professional interpreter, arranged before the appointment |
What the evidence does and does not show
Being straight about this matters. Almost all of the interpreter research is hospital based and mostly from the United States, and there is essentially no dental specific trial. What exists points in a consistent direction without being definitive.
Lee and colleagues, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in 2017, tested a bedside interpreter phone intervention and found it improved patient reported informed consent for patients with limited English proficiency. It did not fully close the gap against English speaking patients. That is the honest shape of the finding. Professional interpreting helps a lot and does not make the problem disappear, which is an argument for interpreting plus written information plus a slower appointment, rather than interpreting alone.
What good language support looks like in a dental practice
Some of it is not about interpreting at all.
- A longer appointment. Interpreted conversations take roughly twice as long, and rushing is where errors happen.
- Teach back. The dentist asks you to say the plan back in your own words, so any gap shows up before treatment rather than after.
- Written treatment plans, with the item numbers and fees set out, so the information survives the appointment. Our guide to reading a dental treatment plan walks through what each part means.
- Drawings, models and photographs. A tooth model explains a crown faster than any sentence.
- Booking the interpreter for the review visit as well, rather than for the first appointment only.
The same principles apply to other kinds of access. Our article on wheelchair access and dental care covers the physical side of getting into and through an appointment comfortably.
What you can do before your appointment
A few things make a large difference.
- Say at the booking stage which language you would prefer, and whether you want a phone interpreter or someone in the room.
- Bring your medicines, or clear photographs of the boxes. Names are easier to read than to translate.
- Write your questions down beforehand in your first language. It is much easier to interpret a written question than one you are trying to form under pressure.
- Ask for the plan in writing before you agree to anything, and ask for time to read it.
- Say clearly if you do not understand. Saying so is not rude and it is not a delay. It is the point of the appointment.
If the appointment itself is the difficult part rather than the language, our piece on managing fear of the dentist may be more useful than anything in this article. Anxiety and language difficulty often travel together, and each one makes the other worse.
Common questions
Can I get an interpreter at the dentist in Australia?
Often, yes, but it has to be arranged rather than assumed. Ask the practice what language support it can arrange when you book. You can also call TIS National yourself on 131 450 and ask to be connected to an interpreter who can speak with the practice.
Is the interpreter service free in NSW?
In public health services, yes. NSW Health states that patients, families and carers who do not speak English as a first language, or who are Deaf, have the right to free, confidential, professional interpreters when using public health services. Members of the public cannot book that service directly and are directed to call TIS on 131 450. For private dental practices the position is less clear, and it has not been confirmed that dentistry is an eligible discipline for the free schemes.
Can my daughter translate for me at my dental appointment?
She can come with you for support, and that is welcome. She should not be your interpreter for consent, medical history or treatment planning. NSW Health policy treats the use of relatives and children as a breach of standard procedure, because of emotional involvement, untested language ability, missing medical terminology and loss of confidentiality.
How do I book a TIS interpreter for an appointment?
Call TIS National on 131 450. Say the language you need, and explain that you want to speak with a dental practice. For an interpreter to attend in person, more notice is needed, so call well before the appointment date rather than the day before.
What should I do if I do not understand my dental treatment plan?
Stop the appointment and say so. Ask for the plan in writing, ask what happens if you do nothing, and ask what the alternatives are. A reasonable practice will slow down, and if it will not, that is useful information about the practice.
Booking at Lumi Dental
Lumi Dental is at Shop LG16, Melrose Central, 35 Hope St, Melrose Park, and the practice is open Monday to Saturday, with Sunday by appointment. If English is not your first language, ask the practice what language support it can arrange when you book, and allow extra time for the visit. New patients can see what the current new patient special includes on the current deals page, and everyday check ups and cleans are described on the general dentistry page. Questions can go through the contact page.
This article is general information only and is not personal dental or medical advice. Interpreting scheme eligibility changes, so check your own situation with TIS National and with the practice.
