Filling the NEED

IS YOUR CHILD BEING EXAMINED BY AN ORAL HEALTH THERAPIST OR A DENTIST?

You took your 14-year-old to a dental clinic. But you discovered the work was primarily to be done by an oral health therapist rather than a fully qualified dentist. Is that an issue? Should you be taking your teenager to a fully qualified dentist?

Oral health therapists in

New Zealand are university graduates who have at least three years’ training. They are qualified to carry out, among other things, oral-health assessments, X-rays, fillings, extraction of primary teeth, some crowns, mouthguard fittings, cleaning and polishing etc. They are permitted to carry out more complex tasks under the direct supervision of a fully qualified dentist on-site or refer clients to dentists for specialist treatment off-site. Clearly, they do not have the experience and expertise of a fully qualified dentist, but they charge less and you get what you pay for. If your teenager needs to be examined and has to have relatively simple work carried out, then oral health therapists are fine for that. But for more complex work, I’d want a dentist. Of course, if cost isn’t an issue, you have the option of either. Most dental practices have both dentists and oral health therapists, so find one you can trust, then let them decide who treats what.

The Japanese import car you recently bought has fog lights front and back built into the vehicle at time of manufacture, which do a great job. But is it true that it’s an offence in New Zealand to have these lights on at any time when there is not fog – even at night?

Yes. It sounds a bit pernickety but that is correct. There is logic behind it. Fog lamps illuminate the road ahead, and sometimes behind, in foggy conditions both at night and day. They give off a short, wide beam of light that’s designed to shine through the fog, lighting up the area directly ahead and behind the vehicle – helping the driver see the sides of the road better. But unless there is fog to reduce the brightness, they can dazzle other road users. So New Zealand road law forbids you to use your fog lights simply to give you greater vision, day or night, front or back, unless there is actually fog around. They may also be used in snow or any temporary conditions that reduce vision such as smoke.