The dental health of Australians has gotten worse, and $10 billion is needed to fix the system that provides care for the Aussies' teeth.

The $10-billion figure is more than double the out-of-pocket cost to the health system per year, which is $4.5 billion.

In its report, the National Dental Health Advisory Council said it has taken in consideration the statistics among those who need dental services but unable to afford them, and it is at least double the number of those who can pay for their own dental health.

The council said childhood oral disease has dropped in the 1970s, but it has been climbing back up in the last decade, with increased sugar consumption among the Aussies.

The report concluded there are too many Australians who have poor oral health, because of which they suffer not only teeth problems, but also social exclusion.

The report further says low socio-economic groups - those in remote areas, Indigenous Australians, the frail and disabled, the homeless and prisoners - are most at risk, ABC News reported.

In its recommendations, the council said federal, state and territory governments should invest more than $10 billion extra to fix the system.

Asked for reaction, Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says the Government cannot afford to take on all the council's suggested changes at once, but she may take a step-by-step approach that would prioritise children and low-income groups first.

"I think that this report does make some good suggestions about what our next steps might be, but it also shows that if we wanted to implement everything that the report suggests tomorrow, that we wouldn't even have the dental workforce to do it," she told ABC NewsRadio.