A landmark report is published today by the Dental for All Coalition telling human stories of struggles with oral healthcare in New Zealand.
One of the key conclusions of the report is that the system of $1000 grants provided by Work & Income for urgent dental care is “not fit for purpose”.
The report focuses on, and tells the story of, ten people’s experiences with oral healthcare in New Zealand. Basic oral healthcare is free for under-18s, but must be paid for by over-18s.
Individuals interviewed for the report explained that these grants, increased from $300 to $1000 by the last government, are limited in what they can be spent on, are inaccessible to many, and are too inflexible.
The report says, “the means-tested system of providing grants is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders”.
Ten stories are told in the report of individuals, from very different walks of life, who are all being failed by the current approach to oral health.
Dental care is outside of New Zealand’s public healthcare system, and the stories showcase the stigma, shame, and pain that is felt when people cannot afford basic dental care.
The report, “I Didn’t Want to Smile”, calls for universal, free, Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent dental.
“What was really revealing about the conversations I had for this report,” said report author Kayli Taylor, of ActionStation and the Dental for All coalition, “is that people are searching for other support in the healthcare system, for example through GPs or are requiring hospitalisation, because public oral healthcare is not available.”
“Another theme of the report,” Taylor adds, “is that small problems can really balloon, leading to loss of teeth or financial stress, because dental is not part of the public healthcare system. Funding regular, preventative oral healthcare would help stop small problems from becoming larger ones.”
“It is clear from the stories shared in this report that the status quo is not working – our privatised, costly dental system is preventing people from accessing the care they need,” adds Taylor.
The report is the first publication that the group is aware of that has used detailed interviews to focus on the lived experience of individuals struggling with dental care in New Zealand.
Another theme of the report is that people are making impossible choices because of the high cost of dental, and are forced to go into overdraft or face significant pain because of the failings of the current system.
Brooke Pao Stanley (Manaaki Rangatahi, Auckland Action Against Poverty) says she has seen people struggling with dental costs in her work in South Auckland and there is a need for change.
“In my work at Auckland Action Against Poverty, I heard again and again about people not affording dental, and I think the way forward is to treat your teeth like we do the rest of our body, and make oral healthcare free as part of our public healthcare system,” says Stanley.
A 2022 poll showed that 74% of people in New Zealand support making oral healthcare free.
In the 2023 election the Labour Party promised free dental for under 30s, the Green Party promised free public dental for all, and Te Pāti Māori promised free dental for those earning under $60,000.
The final words of the report read: “What the voices in this report are asking for is simple. To be able to smile. To be able to live without shame or stigma. As a society, are we going to continue to tell people that this is too much to ask for?”
