Mummydreamer, where exactly are you? You can PM me if you like. In my town (West Wyalong) there is a school dental clinic that covers children up to the age of 18 with free dental treatment. They don't even have to be at school yet. There could be a service like that near you - this one operates out of the local school and travels to the next town as well.

I understand what you are saying though, but I think it's a bit of a media beatup to always blame it on what our kids eat. I have 4 kids, they all eat the same things and have a pretty good diet, yet two of them just have crappy teeth. Last year alone we spent $2500 on their teeth - both preventative and treatment for fillings etc and if we didn't have PHI that covered most of that cost we'd not be able to afford it either (I stopped using the free clinic once we got PHI - I didn't think it was right to keep using it). Even last week I took DS1 for a checkup and a mouthguard fitting and the dentist did some fissure seals on 4 of his teeth as a prevention and it cost over $600 just for that and that didn't include the cost of the mouthguard! So it is terribly expensive and I agree that often dental care is just unaffordable for many people. All you can do it make sure you brush their teeth the best you can and try to eat things that will also help.