The Dental for All coalition welcomes the Green Party’s
commitment to publicly delivered, free dental care for
everyone and support for by-Māori for-Māori services in
their new election manifesto. This announcement follows
increasing attention on the failures of the current approach
to oral health and calls for free dental care to be included
in the public healthcare system.
“As an oral health
therapist, I believe that oral health is a universal right,
not a privilege. It is encouraging to see oral health
recognised within the wider health agenda, alongside
commitments to kaupapa Māori approaches that will help
reduce inequities,” says Samuel Carrington, Associate Dean
Māori and Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago
Faculty of Dentistry and member of the Dental for All
coalition.
“The PSA is very supportive of this
policy which seeks to fully fund dental healthcare,” says
Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service
Association. The PSA represents the public oral health
workforce and is a member of the Dental for All
coalition.
“Dental care privatisation has completely
failed New Zealanders. The provision of dental care is
patchy, and is so expensive that many families now avoid
going to the dentist at all. New Zealanders deserve to have
dental care wrapped into our public healthcare system, so
that all our communities can benefit – not just those who
can afford it,” says Fitzsimons.
According to the
latest NZ
Health Survey, 43% of New Zealand adults report unmet
need for dental care due to cost, and previous
research released by Dental for All shows that the
downstream effects cost the country billions every
year.
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Polling
conducted by Talbot-Mills, released in March, shows that 83%
of people support dental care being brought into the public
healthcare system, with widespread support from voters
across the political spectrum.
In April, Dental for
All released a costed
policy plan which includes a network of community oral
health clinics to deliver universal, free oral healthcare as
part of the public healthcare system, investment in the oral
health workforce and resourcing for Māori tino
rangatiratanga over oral health.
“There is a clear
evidence base and strong public mandate for universal, Te
Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare. We know that
this is a viable, cost-effective policy and it has popular
support.” says Dental for All campaigner, Hana
Pilkinton-Ching.
The Green Party’s newly-announced
health
policies include a focus on prevention in health
services, expanding access to essential primary and dental
care (working towards publicly delivered, fully free
services), funding dental vans to visit rural communities
and kaupapa Māori approaches to end health
inequities.
“We welcome this direction and look
forward to seeing meaningful investment, a strengthened oral
health workforce, and a clear pathway to delivering
accessible, equitable oral healthcare for all people in
Aotearoa,” says Carrington.
“It’s great to see
the Greens are ready to put oral health back where it
belongs, in the public system. We hope that other political
parties will respond to the call from communities around the
countries and commit to policies that address the urgent
need for access to oral healthcare, and lead us towards a
better future,” says
Pilkinton-Ching.
