Kamo has a new dental clinic.
The Community Oral Health Clinic in Grant St is open after being formally blessed on May 17.
The clinic is on land gifted to the Northland DHB in 1985 by an elderly Kamo couple.
The two-chair dental facility will provide dental care to about 2000 children up to the age of 17 each year. That equates to 5000 to 6000 treatment and examination appointments each year.
"Our over-arching vision is to build a Northland-wide, integrated, seamless, quality oral health service for 0-17 year olds," said Dr Neil Croucher, oral health adviser to the Northland DHB.
"It is our aim to provide oral health services within modern state-of-the-art facilities, at or near where children and adolescents go to school or live."
Northland's oral health clinics are strategically placed in areas that have high need and larger populations.
In addition to these fixed clinics are mobile units which provide on-site diagnostic and treatment services to schools with low decile ratings as well as the larger schools in rural areas.
"The range of oral services in Northland provides parents with choice," Dr Croucher said.
"The fixed clinics are open all year round, easy to find and mean that people don't have to wait for the mobile unit to visit their community."
The larger clinics also provide a greater opportunity for parents to be a part of their child's dental care. In the past, children were often seen without parents present, however, now parents can attend the clinic with their child and learn how they can better support their child's dental health.
In addition to the new Kamo clinic, primary school dental clinics in Onerahi, Kaikohe East and Dargaville have been refurbished, and a two-chair clinic has opened at Alexander St, Whangarei.
A full surgery clinic has also opened at Kaitaia Hospital.
Northland children have one of the worst rates of dental decay in the country, nearly twice the national average.
Only 35 per cent of the region's 5-year-olds are free of tooth decay, according to Northland Health statistics.
All children under 18 are eligible for free dental care. Once children reach high school, they are able to register with a private dentist who will provide free services for 13 to 17 year olds. For more information about the school and adolescent dental services phone 0800 TALK TEETH (0800 825 583), or visit www.letstalkteeth.co.nz.