Source: Dental for All
A group advocating for improved access to dental is calling on the Government to bring dental into the public healthcare system to ease cost of living pain.
Dental for All – a group of dentists, oral health therapists, unions, and poverty action groups – says that recently released research shows rising dental costs are adding to the strain faced by households.
New 2025 research published by University of Otago academics shows that between 1978 and 2023, fees for five core dental treatments increased by 75%-236% while earnings went up by 46%.
Hana Pilkinton-Ching, Dental for All spokesperson, said: “We already knew that dental care was cost-prohibitive, with almost half of us unable to afford it, but this latest research shows households dealing with high food and gas costs are also facing rising dental costs for essential care.”
The New Zealand Health Survey for 2023-2024 showed that 45% of people in New Zealand were unable to access dental care because of cost.
Pilkinton-Ching added: “We are calling on the Government to address this as a matter of urgency. There’s no good medical or policy reason why dental is carved out of our public healthcare system, and with dental costs continuing to rise the Government needs to get a grip on this.”
Research shows that untreated oral healthcare problems are associated with downstream health problems, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s.
Work previously produced by Dental for All shows that keeping dental out of our public healthcare system is costing New Zealand $2.5bn in lost productivity and $3.1bn in reduced quality of life.
