Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
Key findings:
- Children’s dental workers report long waitlists and children in pain.
- A system stretched by staff shortages, lack of investment in equipment and infrastructure, and a lack of clerical support.
- Free dental care for young people shows how a properly funded free system could work for adults – unmet dental need surges after age 18.
Primary-aged school children are waiting years between dental appointments, many are stuck on waitlists while already in pain, according to a new report released today, Children’s Oral Health Workers: Voices for Dental for All .
The report, from the PSA in association with the Dental for All coalition, builds a new picture of children’s public dental care in 2026, based on in-depth interviews with 19 dental workers from around the country.
Dental workers describe in the report how underfunding has worsened over the past three years under the National-led Government, leading to reduced services and more staff vacancies.
“This is a disturbing snapshot of what we are seeing throughout the public health system – chronic underfunding that is fast eroding the high-quality oral health care for children that used to be the envy of the world,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“These are frontline health workers with a clear message to the Government – invest in public health. Making sure our children grow up with healthy teeth is the best way to prevent problems later in life. It’s a no-brainer.
“Children should not have to endure weeks and months of pain before being seen.”
Workers say Health NZ has deliberately slowed recruitment to save money, leaving them far less time for the preventative work that stops problems before they start. Mobile dental clinics, key to reaching children, have maintenance problems that get worse every year, adding to delays.
“On top of this, Health NZ has slashed 1000 IT workers – this means digital systems are not being upgraded to meet demand, and support is far harder to get when technology breaks down.
“All this adds to waiting times, more pain for children and erodes the quality of health care.”
Worker testimony
‘When we go into schools, we’re not able to see everybody – we’re not able to see those who are due last year and do preventative work.’
‘The floor’s become spongy in a lot of the vans. We’re told they’re still safe to be in. It can make you quite nervous.’
‘We had a person leave who answered our 0800 number and they didn’t replace them. Frontline staff are covering the person they didn’t replace. I’m sorry it doesn’t work.’
A future blueprint for free universal care
The report also shows the children’s service is a blueprint for free adult dental care.
Among children aged 10 to 14, unmet dental need due to cost is 4 per cent. By contrast, 58 per cent of adults aged 25 to 34 need to see a dentist but are going without because of the cost.
“Dental workers see the cost of unmet dental need up close – the damage to people’s overall health and wellbeing, and to their confidence to smile. They worry about the kids who will eventually age out of their service,” said Fleur Fitzsimons.
“Many wish they could treat the adults in the whānau they see. Some are asked by parents to look at their teeth, and have to say no.
“Dental care sits outside the public system only because of a quirk of history – and lobbying by dentists in the 1930s to keep it private.
“In the decades since, it has become clear a privatised dental system doesn’t serve the people of Aotearoa, and plenty of research spells out how much inequitable access to dental care is costing our country.
“We hope this report adds to the growing support for Dental for All by setting out workers’ vision for a better system. It’s time everyone in New Zealand can access high-quality, free dental care.”
“This report shares important insights from community oral health workers about what universal, public oral healthcare should look like. In our policy paper released in April, ‘Fixing Oral Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Costed Policy Plan for Delivering Dental for All’, we propose a model for universal, Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare which builds on the successes of public provision for children.
“We know what the solutions are, and the need is urgent. Now we need politicians to commit to taking action,” Dental for All campaigner, Hana Pilkinton-Ching, says.
Read the report in full at this link: https://content.app-us1.com/2g9OXD/2026/10/07/a6b3ff80-529c-4f77-afde-71cb544f0e38.pdf
The Report will be launched today (8 October) at 5pm at the Barclay Theatre at the Otago Museum with a panel discussion chaired by PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons and Samuel Carrington, Raewyn Sinclar and Janet Quigley.
Please register if you wish to join: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=pZ1WjE1jXUCaUAB_PhHr7M7upUZlUnNBpxxaM18KMcZUOFFRWkc5NUJOVFM1T1lTMUREM0lYREo4Ty4u&route=shorturl
Samuel Carrington (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hurungaterangi) is a Māori Oral Health Therapist, Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean Māori at the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry. He is Vice President of Te Ohu Pūniho Ora o Aotearoa – the New Zealand Oral Health Association, an Executive member of Te Ao Mārama – Aotearoa Māori Dental Association, and a member of the Dental for All coalition.
Raewyn Sinclair is a Senior Oral Health Therapist for the Community Oral Health Service and has been working in this service for the past 11 years. She is also a PSA Delegate for Community Oral Health, a position she has taken up for a second time. Raewyn started in dentistry at the University of Otago, School of Dentistry, as a Dental assistant in 1985 at the age of 16 and then worked in several private practices throughout her career. She decided as an adult student she wanted to help children’s dentistry so got her degree as an Oral Health Therapist at the age of 47 and has never looked back. She also has 3 grown children and 8 grandchildren whom she enjoys spending her down time with.
Janet Quigley graduated as a Dental nurse in the early 1970s and, alongside later MP and Minister for Health Annette King, she joined the march on parliament in 1974 to demand pay parity with Public Health nurses.
After two major restructures 18 years ago, Janet left community dental and took on a Health promotion role. The majority of her work now focuses on nutrition and oral health promotion in Early Childhood and Primary schools.
Throughout her career she has stayed very active is the PSA. She was on the bargaining team for the successful Allied Health Pay Equity claim in 2023 and currently serves as our Vice President.
Background: Dental for All (https://www.dentalforall.nz/about)
Dental for All is a campaign for free, universal, Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare in Aotearoa. The campaign, started in 2022, is led by ActionStation Aotearoa and supported by a core coalition, which includes unions, community organisations, oral health workers and many others passionate about transforming the way we treat oral health in Aotearoa – alongside a growing movement of everyday people organising for Dental for All in their communities
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (https://www.psa.org.nz/) is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.