A new poll suggests nearly three-quarters of adults support bringing dental health into the public system in Aotearoa.
Released on World Oral Health Day, the poll commissioned by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) showed 74% of people strongly agreed or agreed that adult dental care should be funded in the same way it is funded for children.
Children’s dental care is currently free in New Zealand.
A group called Dental for All - comprising ASMS, anti-poverty groups such as Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP), and practising dentists - is now calling for politicians to bring universal dental into the public healthcare system in light of the poll.
Brooke Stanley Pao, the coordinator of AAAP told teaomaori.news the inequity of dental health access contributes to the overall health statistics of Māori.
"We believe that they contribute to the high rates of heart disease that currently exist within Māori communities. Our mouth health is also deeply connected to the rest of our physical well-being. This is huge.
"I'm not sure if we're aware but bacteria from our mouth can get into our bloodstream and travel into other parts of our body, which can cause inflammation. So it's actually really connected to our heart health.
"There's also a lot of shame and stigma associated with dental care for people that don't have their teeth or can't afford to go and see a dentist as well. There are a lot of social impacts that are connected to poor dental health outcomes in Aotearoa."
Delay because of costs
Stanley Pao says public dental healthcare would be transformational for low and middle-income families, and Māori communities.
"Another statistic within the poll was that 43% of people had visited a dentist in the last 12 months" but she says that in poorer communities the figure would be much lower.
Some 72 per cent of people polled said they had delayed a visit to the dentist because of the cost involved.
Dental for All has launched an online petition with ActionStation calling on the government to enact this change and make dental care free for everyone.
“Dental care is just unaffordable for many New Zealanders,” says ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton.
“It is only adding to the health inequities that plague our system.”
Prioritising health Stanley Pao says successive governments have treated oral health differently from general healthcare and says it’s time for a change.
"I think the government is a house that protects businesses and wealth. And I guess what we're calling for and asking the public to get behind us is that we should be prioritising the health and well-being of our communities at every level, and this is but a small part that people can play."
The poll and petition follow a report from ASMS, Tooth be Told, published late last year showing 40% of people in Aotearoa cannot afford dental care.
Public dentist Hugh Trengrove says: “When our teeth and gums are looked after, our well-being improves. I see terrible cases where poor oral health leads to worse health problems, and the government has the power to intervene to end that.”
