By CHRIS BRAMWELL in Taupo
The reinstatement of dental services at Taupo Hospital means children like Nicholas O'Malley don't have to endure an hour-long trip before treatment.
The four-year-old required dental treatment under general anaesthetic, which can only be done at a hospital.
Until recently that servicewas available only at Rotorua Hospital, at least an hour away for Taupo residents.
Nicholas severed his finger in an accident last year, requiring two pins. The surgery left him feeling scared of hospitals and surgical procedures, and the strong antibiotics he was prescribed damaged his teeth.
Taupo dental surgeon David O'Brien said for children like Nicholas, having dental services up and running locally was really good news.
Many parents had to drive their children to Rotorua from as far as Turangi for dental treatment under general anaesthetic since it was stopped in Taupo a decade ago.
Mr O'Brien said many of the children had the work done under general anaesthetic because they would not sit still or behave at dental clinics. There were also children who needed a lot of work done, making the experience so unpleasant they might never go to the dentist again, he said.
"I think that most kids wake up from dental surgery under a general, realise that they just have a bit of a sore throat and think 'well maybe it's not so bad' and next time will sit still in the dentist chair."
The Taupo Hospital dental services are carried out monthly with two surgery sessions in one day.
Lakes District Health Board Dental Services Manager Lois Jackson said she hoped the service could be flexible enough to meet demand.
"At the moment once a month is coping with the number of referrals we get," she said.
Ms Jackson said she had been trying to get the services reinstated for some time and in June was told to go ahead with a trial. The Woodhams report, which reviewed Taupo health services and came out last December, helped the process along, she said.
The report recommended dental services be reinstated at the hospital as soon as funding became available because of the "real and traumatic" delays caused by having to go to Rotorua.
