Wanganui's dental service will lead an oral health trial that could revolutionise the way in which holes caused by dental decay in children's teeth are managed.
Following a feasibility study in Hawkes Bay, Wanganui was chosen to be the first in the country to run a randomised control trial for a new method of dental care.
As well as using fillings, Whanganui District Health Board (WDHB) dental services manager Barbara Dewson and her team will use a new technique developed in Scotland which involves placing a stainless steel cap or crown over a child's decayed tooth, thus eliminating the need for drilling.
Three dental health specialists from around the country - Dr Lyndie Foster Page, Dorothy Boyd and Kathy Fuge - visited Wanganui Hospital last week to train the dental therapists taking part in the study, which compares the new technique with their usual dental care.
Dr Foster Page said: "Apart from the fact Wanganui's population is ideal for such a trial because of the state of children's teeth in the district, we recognised that the WDHB dental team is fully engaged in wanting the best oral outcome for the district's children."
"It's an exciting trial for several reasons."
Besides the view that it will revolutionise how holes in teeth are treated, "it's the result of a true collaboration between the WDHB, Otago University, Cure Kids, and manufacturing company 3M who are donating the caps and cement used to fix them".
Cure Kids would be funding the trial and the three specialists were training dentists and managing the trial, which is set to begin next month and last for three years.
Mrs Dewson said communities would receive more information seeking their participation between now and then.