Bring back dental clinics at schools

Up to 200 children referred to hospital for dental surgery each month, more than 17000 had not seen a dentist since 2018 and 57-70 per cent of Ma¯ori and Pacific Islanders have dental decay.

These numbers are staggering and appalling but the blame falls squarely on successive governments who have paid low wages. The poverty gap is ever widening, people can only afford cheap junk type food, dental work is unaffordable with both parents working, lack of transport and time to visit even a mobile clinic in another suburb.

NZ had a world class dental service with a dental clinic and nurse on every school site and frequent dental hygiene lessons freely given. People had access to natural foods and salt replaced the expense of toothpaste. Messages of daily teeth cleaning necessity were constantly in children’s faces. Some schools even resorted to teeth cleaning in the classrooms as a daily routine.

Tooth decay is one of the most toxic poisons affecting the whole body. Cardiac surgeons will not operate on people with severe teeth decay. Imagine the effect it has on a small child’s wellbeing. It impacts on sleep, nutrition, ability to concentrate in school, plus their physical and mental wellbeing.

Now these clinics have been turned into storerooms, one-to-one teaching spaces, libraries, computer suites, etc and 17000 children in Auckland alone are missing out on an essential service.

I really despair when I look back to what NZ had and does not have today.

Marie Kaire, Whanga¯rei.