Northland school children take oral health into their own hands

Teeth-brushing is a regular part of the day in Angela Vendt's classroom at Portland School. Photo / Brodie Stone

Northland is over-represented for having tamariki with missing or decaying teeth, but Portland School on the outskirts of Whangārei is doing their bit to better the oral health of its students.

Principal Shane Nicholas is calling for more support from Te Whatu Ora to implement tooth-brushing initiatives in the lower-Te Tai Tokerau region.

He said programmes further north have been hugely successful and would like to see them implemented closer to Whangārei, though he noted the health system remains under immense pressure.

“In reality, the public nurses and the public system are quite heavily loaded at the moment, and we’re still feeling the ripple effects of Covid-19,” he said.

That’s why Nicholas and his staff have taken control.

He said it was surprising when the programme was first implemented how many students had never brushed their teeth.

“It was also notable the amount that were brushing their teeth, but they were brushing them ineffectively,” he said.

The school, which has a roll of 76, has implemented a tooth-brushing programme which goes hand in hand with the lunches in schools programme. The toothbrushes were at first provided by teachers themselves, but since then, they have been supplied by a public health nurse.

Tamariki from Years 1-6 gather in their classrooms and brush their teeth to a song from child-TV sensation “Blippi” after their lunch.

According to Nicholas, the song Brush Your Teeth has gained popularity not just within the classroom walls, but further afield.

“The feedback from the whānau has been outstanding because they’re wanting to play the song that comes along every time they’re brushing their teeth,” said Nicholas.

“So the learning is extending at home and for me, if learning extends into the home, it’s an indicator that we’re succeeding.”

Nicholas said the kura has received positive comments from dentists, who’ve asked what is being done to produce such good results.

“It’s all part of our wellbeing focus to make students’ wellbeing a priority and that learning follows their wellbeing,” he said.

Nicholas said although some believe it is not a school’s responsibility to teach kids how to brush their teeth, “for us, it’s about preparing our students best for their learning at school and hoping that their learning here is to extend into their life outside of school.

“It’s been purely because of the support of teachers and teachers seeing the value of the programme that it has been a success,” he said.

Year 3 teacher Angela Vendt said a lot of the students in the kura “don’t have good teeth”, which is why the initiative is so important.

“We have kids starting that have teeth missing,” she said.

Nature Broughton (7) and Maia McDonald (7) brush their teeth after lunch. Photo / Brodie Stone

Vendt said the tamariki “love” brushing their teeth each day, and if she’s busy or caught up they will remind her they need to do it.

“It’s just a really vital part of the day,” she said.

Northland District Health Board’s 2021-22 annual report revealed a severe disproportion within the oral health of Northland Tamariki.

At that time, our 5-year-olds had one of the lowest percentages of teeth without decay, a shocking 42 per cent compared to 55.1 per cent nationally.

Te Whatu Ora said in their report that until Northland has fluoride in reticulated water supplies, it would be “difficult” to get further traction on the higher rates of decaying teeth, particularly among the Māori community.

Currently, none of Te Tai Tokerau’s 17 council drinking water supplies is fluoridated.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield, who was at the time director general of health, requested in 2021 that Whangārei District Council (WDC) and Far North District Council (FNDC) fluoridate their water supplies.

The first supply could occur within 18 months to around 100,000 Northlanders.

According to Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau general manager of rural, family and community, Jeanette Wedding, a range of oral health services is on offer to tamariki in the region.

Fixed community oral health clinics are located in Whangārei, Kerikeri, Kaitāia, Kaikohe, Hokianga, Mangawhai and Dargaville, and 19 school-based mobile dental clinics, seven community clinics, and district hospitals operate as needed across the region.

“In Whangārei, much of the oral health service provided at Whangārei Hospital was moved into the community, at Te Kamo Community Oral Health Clinic in August last year. This shift is part of ongoing work to make health services more accessible to the community,” said Wedding.

Babies born in Te Tai Tokerau are enrolled with the oral health service at birth and are due for their first oral health appointment when they turn 1 year old.

Tamariki are seen annually by an oral health or dental therapist, at their nearest oral health or mobile clinic. This visit may happen at school for school-aged children.

All eligible patients can access care by phoning 0800 MY TEETH (0800 698 3384).