Worsley said they attempted to recruit a dentist for Dargaville nationally and overseas but had no success.
Back in 2021 when Lumino’s doors were open, the practice posted online that Dargaville’s demand for oral health services was “soaring” but for the first time in two years Dargaville had a full-time dentist and residents no longer needed to travel to Auckland or Whangārei.
Mangawhai Dental Clinic owner and dentist Dr Ellen Clark said finding skilled staff in small towns could be hard. The same was true with attracting people to set up a practice in areas of high deprivation where large portions of the community couldn’t afford to see a dentist.
She said working in a sole practice was hard work for dentists who have already embarked on a full-on career.
“I think rural dentists working in this situation need a lot of support, they often get burnt out and end up moving to a larger city.
“In that environment, it’s hard to keep a practice afloat or viable.”
Clark said the lack of dental services in rural New Zealand is an all too common concern and many people across the country have to travel long distances for care.
“From a dentist’s perspective, it would be nice to see people who are able to get regular check-ups and help them to maintain a good standard of oral health, rather than seeing people when things have gone bad, they’re in a bad state and we’re acting only as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.”
She said school clinics were served by the Community Oral Health Service so children, hospital patients and low-income adults were cared for.
“But adult private patients do have to travel for dental care if they reside in Dargaville.”
Northland DHB's mobile dental unit (MDU) was officially named Kotare and put to work in 2019. Photo / Supplied.
While Mangawhai has two private clinics, some residents from west Kaipara find the 50 minute trip to Whangārei quicker.
“I suspect most Dargaville private practice patients would travel to Whangārei as it’s closer and there are plenty of private dental practices to visit and choose from there,” Clark said.
Her dental business was very busy due to Mangawhai’s population boom. She hadn’t noticed a significant increase because dental services in Dargaville had closed.
Whangārei emergency doctor Gary Payinda said he has been advocating for public health-funded dentistry for a long time.
“I’m treating it every day in the ED (emergency department), people coming to me that just needed a dentist but now they have a facial cellulitis and it gonna require intravenous antibiotics and a three-day hospital admission.”
Payinda said “it’s wild” the amount of money wasted.
“It’s crazy that we don’t fix people’s rotten teeth but then we treat them in operating theatres at the cost of $10,000.″
Te Tai Tokerau Te Whatu Ora rural, family and community manager Jeanette Wedding said a shortage of dental/oral health therapists had contributed to Northland’s “stretched” dental services.
She said it was possible Dargaville Hospital had seen an increase in patients with dental issues since the closure of the clinic.
“There are many people in New Zealand that can’t afford dental treatment, therefore often our EDs are their last resort.”
Wedding said a community dentist visits Dargaville weekly. Mobile dental vans rotated through Kaipara schools and Dargaville Intermediate has a fixed clinic.
Over the last two years, 70 per cent of the eligible child and adolescent population have been seen by the service.
