Residents of Devonport and surrounding communities will soon have greater access to affordable, local dental care, with Tasmania's leading not-for-profit health and wellness organisation, St Lukes, opening a new practice.
Bookings are now open for the North West’s first St Lukes Dental practice, which will open its doors on the corner of Steele and Wenvoe streets in Devonport this September.
St Lukes Chief Health Officer Luke Cameron said the new practice would help meet growing demand in the region and improve access to preventative oral healthcare, with more than 100 expressions of interest already received from community members seeking an appointment.
“Tasmania has the lowest national dental practitioner-to-population ratio, and these workforce challenges are particularly felt in regional areas like the North West[1],” he said.
“That can mean longer wait times or the need to travel for care. This delays check-ups and impacts the community’s oral health, with flow-on effects to overall health and wellbeing.
“Our goal is to make it easier for Tasmanians to access high-quality dental care close to home, catching oral health issues early before they become complex and require emergency treatment or preventable hospitalisation.
“Eligible St Lukes members will enjoy no out of pocket costs on preventative dental care at the new practice, a benefit also available across the St Lukes Dental Network. We’re working closely with Oral Health Tasmania to support public patients through the Tasmanian Government’s dental voucher program.”
Mr Cameron said this is a key part of St Lukes’ commitment to ensuring everyone can receive timely, affordable dental care.
“We believe all Tasmanians have a fundamental right to good oral health,” he said.
“Our Devonport practice has been designed to complement existing services and support the local dentists who are part of our network.
“It will provide the community with greater choice and access to care, a stronger local health system, and support our vision to make Tasmania the healthiest island on the planet through proactive, community-based care.”
The new dental practice is the latest addition to St Lukes' growing presence on the Coast. It joins the new St Lukes wellness hub, currently under development in partnership with Devonport City Council. The wellness hub is scheduled to open in mid-2027 as part of the Devonport Oval Sports Complex.
"We've continued to invest in Devonport because we see enormous opportunity to support the health and wellbeing of North West Tasmanians,” Mr Cameron said.
“We’ve also recently expanded our customer care centre capability in Devonport, including a new call centre.”
The Devonport practice will be the second new St Lukes Dental site the not-for-profit has opened this year. There are now two clinics in the North and North West (Launceston and Devonport), and two in the South (Howrah and Kingston).
Learn more and make a booking at stlukes.com.au/dentist/devonport-dentist.
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