Smile NZ programme: Bay of Plenty patients receive free dental care

Corson Dental in Tauranga is taking part in the initiative to provide free dental treatment to low-income New Zealanders. Photo / George Novak

A six-hour round trip for a half-hour dentist appointment illustrates the need the Bay of Plenty region is facing when it comes to teeth.

A Tauranga dentist last week saw low-income adult patients who had travelled from as far as Te Kaha and Reporoa to receive free dental treatment. But she also wanted the Government to consider increasing its funding for oral health.

However, the Ministry of Health said more children were achieving better outcomes and good oral health from an early age reduced the likelihood of needing costly dental care in later years.

The patients who visited the dentists in Tauranga were involved in Smile NZ Free Dental Days, an initiative to provide free dental treatment to low-income New Zealanders.

Nationwide, around 1000 people will be receiving free dental treatment through the initiative. Roughly 65 individuals in the Bay of Plenty area would receive the service.

Jennifer Corson of Corson Dental said the patients who travelled from the wider Bay of Plenty to her practice didn't just illustrate the need, but how accessible dental care was.

"Oral health is such a huge part of overall health and given that dental care is completely free until the age of 18 in New Zealand, it is really disappointing to see so much unmet need out in the community."

Often people were afraid of the dentist - or afraid of the cost, which stopped them from seeking help, she said.

While there were more things that could be done at a government level to address equity issues, Corson believed if people had regular check-ups, less work would be needed on patients' teeth.

"I personally would like to see an extension of the current scheme for adolescents being extended in some form into the early 20s, the introduction of the sugar tax and daily tooth-brushing programmes at preschool so we can start good habits early."

Corson was increasingly meeting adolescent patients who had let their dental care "get away".

She was also disappointed the Government hadn't delivered on its election promise to increase the maximum grant for emergency dental care from $300 to $1000. Corson said the grant had remained the same for the 23 years she had been working.

"An increase like this would allow a lot more patients with urgent dental needs to get their problems properly sorted and oral health back on track.

"It affects your entire health, at the end of the day."

Dr Jay Park of Corson Dental. Photo / George Novak

A Ministry of Health spokesperson said they understood cost was a "barrier to adults receiving dental care" which was why the Government was looking at how it could make urgent dental care more accessible to people on low incomes.

They said good oral health from an early age reduced the likelihood of needing costly dental care in later years, which was why universal dental services were funded for children and adolescents until their 18th birthday.

"The Community Oral Health Service is seeing more children and achieving better outcomes for them," the spokesperson said.

"From 2007 to 2019, the number of preschool children enrolled in the service more than doubled and the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth among children in Year 8 decreased significantly."

Smile NZ is a joint initiative between the Southern Cross Health Trust and the New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA), where dentists open their practices to provide a range of free treatments, such as fillings and extractions, to those who cannot afford treatment.

The Southern Cross Health Trust funds dental practices for the use of premises, equipment and dental assistants.

In the Bay of Plenty region, participating clinics included Absolute Dental Rotorua, Absolute Dental Ngongotaha, Corson Dental Tauranga and Dental Solutions Tauranga.

NZDA president Katie Ayers said there was a high level of need for dental care among New Zealand's vulnerable population.

And she said that cutting the cost of dental care did not make it "completely accessible" for those living in remote locations.

"We are aware throughout the country there are pockets where it is particularly hard to get to a dentist," she said.

"Someone has to pay for the petrol and someone has got to own the car."

However, various charities - like local health shuttles - often assisted with transportation.

"Everyone deserves to have good oral health and people shouldn't be travelling a six-hour round trip to seek a 30-minute appointment which is only going to address one issue."