A new poll shows a strong majority of people in New Zealand support bringing dental care into the public healthcare system, with that strong support existing across the political spectrum.
A Talbot Mills poll of over 1000 New Zealand adults showed 83% of people answered yes to the question, “Do you support dental care being brought into the public healthcare system?”
88% of Labour voters supported the move, alongside 78% of National voters. Women (87%) were more likely to support the move than men (79%).
“This poll is the latest in a series of developments showing growing public momentum behind plugging the gap in our healthcare system that leaves out dental care,” says Hana Pilkinton-Ching, campaigner for Dental for All, which commissioned the poll. (ref. https://www.dentalforall.nz/ )
“Dental is carved out of our public healthcare system because some dentists lobbied in 1938 to keep dental out,” adds Pilkinton-Ching, “but more and more people in New Zealand recognise that our mouths are part of our bodies, oral health is health, and it makes no sense for our healthcare system to keep excluding dental.”
At present, dental is free for under-18s, but is largely privatised for adults. A $1000 grant for essential dental care is available from Work & Income, though that grant is means-tested.
The same poll also tested support for dental care being free, with similarly strong results. 80% of people polled – including 76% of National voters and 87% of Labour voters (as well as 85% of Green voters and 79% of ACT voters) – supported free dental care for adults.
“A 2023 poll showed that 74% of people supported free dental,” observes Harriet Wild, Policy & Research Director at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the union representing senior dentists and doctors.
“This poll shows public support continues to build to bring dental into our public healthcare system,” adds Wild. “It makes human sense, it makes economic sense, and this polling confirms that the move would be an incredibly popular one among the wider voting public.”
A recent Dental for All report, completed by FrankAdvice, showed that keeping dental out of the public healthcare system is costing New Zealand $2.5 billion in lost productivity per year and $3.1 billion per year in reduced quality of life. Estimates of the cost of bringing dental into the public healthcare system generally range between $1 billion and $2 billion annually. (ref. https://www.dentalforall.nz/s/FrankAdvice_report_for_Dental_for_All_Coalition.pdf )
Dental for All will shortly release, later in April 2026, a costed plan for an integrated oral health service for children and adults.
Notes:
Polling conducted by Talbot Mills Research surveyed 1060 individuals (using nationally representative respondents 18 years and over).
The maximum sampling error is 3.1%. Fieldwork was conducted between 12 and 24 March 2026.
