A landmark report released today outlines a detailed proposal to make oral healthcare free and universal in New Zealand. The report, ‘Fixing Oral Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Costed Policy Plan for Delivering Dental for All’, is published by Dental for All and includes costings by independent economists for a national network of community oral health clinics. (ref. https://www.dentalforall.nz/ )
“We need urgent action to address this gap in the public health system,” says Dental for All campaigner, Hana Pilkinton-Ching. “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. It shows that universal dental is feasible and affordable.”
The report proposes an Adult Community Oral Health Service, featuring over 700 clinics across Aotearoa New Zealand which would provide oral healthcare free in the community. These clinics – along with funding for by-Māori, for Māori services; training and expanding the workforce; and ramping up policy skills in oral health – are estimated to cost $936 million per annum, alongside a one-off capital investment of $1.1 billion.
“The only reason dental is carved out of our public healthcare system is lobbying by dentists in 1938 – we’re not where we are for any good medical or policy reason,” says Dental for All campaigner and researcher, Kayli Taylor. “To our knowledge, this is the first time a detailed plan for free, universal, Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare has been published, and it is now ready to be implemented by politicians.”
The report proposes expanding the number of seats for training dentists at the University of Otago, describes what level of service would be covered by an Adult Community Oral Health Service, and lays out a scheme to attract dentists and oral health therapists to the national network. Private dentists would be free to continue offering their services under the proposal.
“Our whānau have waited and suffered long enough,” says Leeann Waaka, dental therapist and co-tumuaki for Te Ao Mārama – Aotearoa Māori Dental Association. “They deserve an oral health system worthy of them, one that upholds their dignity, gives life to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and brings hei oranga niho mō te iwi Māori into reality. This policy is carried by the voice of our whānau and by the solutions they seek. My hope is that their voices rise beyond this launch and become the turning point for bold and lasting action.”
A recent Talbot Mills poll from March this year found 83% of people in New Zealand supported bringing dental into the public healthcare system.
“No longer can politicians ignore the damaging effects of our privatised model of oral healthcare, or argue there is no solution to these problems,” adds Hana Pilkinton-Ching of Dental for All.
A further report by FrankAdvice showed in 2024 that current dental settings, which involved privatised dental for over-18s, are costing the country $2.5 billion in lost productivity and $3.1 billion in lost quality of life. (ref. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6716db8303911558a264ceeb/t/6893fb04bd24865e5efa7e1f/1754528521108/FrankAdvice_report_for_Dental_for_All_Coalition.pdf )
