Dentist drought a pain for patients

By ALISON BROWN in Rotorua
Rotorua residents are suffering in pain at weekends due to a gap in the city's emergency health care service.

Emergency dental care at weekends has been reduced to an occasional service, meaning people with severe tooth problems are being referred to Tauranga and Taupo for treatment.

A woman whose face recently swelled to the size of a cricket ball was unable to get dental treatment in Rotorua, or at the Tauranga clinic she was referred to.

She was given medication to tide her over until she could find a dentist.

Patients and their families affected by the shortage say the quality of dental services is unacceptable and surprising for a tourist town like Rotorua.

Only nine of the 17 dentists in Rotorua work rostered weekends, however, not all weekends are covered by local dentists. During those weekends, patients are referred by Lakes Prime Care - Rotorua's after-hours GP clinic - to a Tauranga dental clinic.

Several dentists spoken to by the Daily Post admit the situation is not ideal but say patients could help themselves by having a regular dentist and seeking treatment early before problems with their teeth escalate.

The issue was highlighted when a 29-year-old Rotorua woman with a painful abscess rang Lakes Prime Care last weekend to find out where she could be treated.

The abscess, which had developed next to a tooth she had broken six months earlier, had caused one side of her mouth to swell to the size of a cricket ball. She was told she would have to ring Team Dental in Tauranga for an appointment as there were no dentists available in Rotorua.

Her father took her to Rotorua Hospital's emergency department where staff confirmed she would need to travel to Tauranga. However, when hospital staff rang the Tauranga clinic for her, the dentist was fully booked.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, had to work on Sunday and was unable to travel out-of-town to either Tauranga or to a dentist in Taupo, where she was also referred.

A doctor at Lakes Prime Care prescribed some medication to relieve the pain until she could see a dentist during the week. By Wednesday however, the woman had still not found an available dentist.

The woman's parents, who don't want to be named, say the incident has highlighted the poor quality of Rotorua's after-hours dental care.

"It was a busy weekend with the UB40 concert on and plenty of tourists in town," her father said. "What would happen if someone had an accident and needed urgent dental work?"

Rotorua dentist and Lakes District Health Board chairman Stewart Edward said the shortage of dentists willing to work weekends meant there would be times when patients had to travel to Tauranga.

About 30 years ago, he helped set up Rotorua's weekend dental roster which involved nearly all of the town's dentists. But in recent years, eight dentists had pulled out, choosing to either treat only their own patients or quit after-hours care altogether.

"Dentists have been abused or taken advantage of during the weekends and because of the sexual harassment type things, another person always has to be working with you," Mr Edward said. "Dentists are walking away from it, saying they've had enough."

People increased their chances of getting after-hours care if they had a regular dentist, he said.

Rotorua dentist Malcolm Till said he worked 11-hour days during the week and preferred to only treat his own patients after hours. He said patients could avoid after-hours dental care by seeking early treatment. "Toothache doesn't just arrive overnight."

Lakes District Health Board surgical services manager Paul Cocks said hospital surgeons did not treat patients who could be seen by a dentist in the community.

The health board did not employ any dental surgeons and people requiring urgent dental surgery were assessed and stabilised by general surgeons. In serious cases they could be sent to Waikato Hospital, otherwise they were referred to a community dentist for further treatment.