Uproar Surrounding Dental Closures in New Zealand
Parents and teachers of schoolchildren in New Zealand have reacted angrily to suggestions that more school dental services could be phased out.
Sandspit Road School in Auckland is the latest school to suffer, as the dental lab is being shut down this week and children will be forced to visit facilities shared by a number of different schools.
School Principal, Graeme Newall, said that the changes will have a negative impact on children’s oral health, as they will be unable to access dental care without leaving the campus, which could also have adverse effects on their education.
A regional clinic, located 2 kilometres from the school, will start operating in January but Mr Newall said that 16 children will have to wait for treatment that they were due to have before the end of this year.
Martin Hefford, Director of Service Integration for Counties Manukau DHB, said that it was necessary to shake-up the services to modernise the system and make it more efficient.
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