Apart from the occasional visit from a mobile dental service, most people living in Dargaville and surrounds must travel more than 50km to Whangārei to see a dentist.
“We’ve even heard horror stories of some people pulling out their own teeth with pliers,” Julie said.
Even though this was the couple’s first foray into the field of dentistry “if there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Te Uri o Hau kaumātua Ben Hita confirmed transport was a major barrier for many given the rising cost of living and petrol. The travel to Whangārei was a “hell of a journey” for many whānau.
“We have the bare minimum health services here at the moment, with no dental attachment and only one medical centre,” Hita said.
“If they (the Cottons) can pull this off, then I support them all the way.”
According to Kaipara District Councillor Gordon Lambeth, the 1930s building was an old dental clinic that complemented a neighbouring medical centre.
He remembered as a boy the area served as a kind of ‘”health hub”, which he said was something the town desperately needed again.
“For any professional business operation, it’s become very difficult with all the added licensing regulations and red tape, so trying to survive as a business in a small area is tough.
“It’s not isolated to the medical profession either. We’ve lost engineering firms, chemists and I’m now the only architectural designer left in town, when a decade ago there used to be four,” Lambeth said.
“People in local and central government seem to have forgotten that this is a major service centre for a large geographical area, so we need this.”
Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson agreed the service would be a welcome addition to the town to fill the current gap.
He said with the projected rate of future population growth, it was important to bring these types of services back to the region.
“There’s nothing in Dargaville, and having to travel at least an hour or more on these dangerous roads, it’s the last thing you need when you need to see a dentist.”
Meanwhile, the Cottons are currently in the process of applying for immigration accreditation to bring in an overseas dentist.
They said while they would love to employ a Kiwi dentist, this was proving difficult, hence their search abroad.
Despite having an Egyptian dentist ready and available, the couple said the application process was longer and more expensive than they anticipated.
“My husband is going through the immigration accreditation for health professionals at the moment, but it’s pretty time-consuming and we’ve already spent around $10k,” Julie said.
“You’d think health professionals would be a greater priority as this is such a desperate environment.”
An Immigration NZ spokeswoman said on average, they process Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) applications for dentists in 19 weekdays. The timeframe lags behind roles in the health, construction, transportation and logistics sectors.
“Where further information is required, this will affect the processing timeframe of applications.”
Between January 1 and August 24 this year, three dentists who applied for AEWV applications offshore have arrived in New Zealand.
