Source: Radio New Zealand
A campaign group says universal free dental care in Aotearoa is affordable. AFP/ Thibaut Durand/ Hans Lucas
A campaign group has released a detailed plan which it says shows universal free dental care in Aotearoa is both feasible and affordable.
The report by Dental for All estimates it would cost $936 million a year – alongside a one-off capital investment of $1.1 billion.
Included in the costs would be 700 clinics across the country, funding for by Māori for Māori services, as well as training and growing the workforce.
To do that, the report proposed expanding the number for training dentists at the University of Otago and laid out a scheme to attract dentists and oral health therapists to the national network.
Dental for All campaigner Hana Pilkinton-Ching said the current approach to oral healthcare in Aotearoa was not working.
“Nearly half of New Zealand adults can’t afford the care that they need, so now it’s time to set out what the solutions to this could be.
“Our policy paper outlines a credible pathway to an oral health system which upholds Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ensures everyone can access the oral healthcare they need.”
Pilkinton-Ching said the costs in the paper fell below previous estimates of $1b to $2b annually and that it would also cost less than the current oral health model.
“We are actually already losing billions of dollars every year as a result of the flow on effects of poor oral health.”
Another Dental for All campaigner and researcher, Kayli Taylor, said the only reason dental was carved out of our public healthcare system was because lobbying by dentists in 1938.
“We’re not where we are for any good medical or policy reason,” she said.
It followed the recent release of a Talbot Mills Research survey, commissioned by Dental For All, that found 83 percent of people in New Zealand supported bringing dental into the public healthcare system.
The report said the move had endorsement across the political spectrum – including 88 percent of Labour-voting participants and 78 percent of National voters.
“We want politicians to see that what the public wants is for them to actually show leadership and take the steps to make the right decision,” Pilkinton-Ching said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
