Aquilla Ngahere being treated by NZ Army dental officer Mary Engelbrecht at the free mobile dental clinic in Whanganui. Photo / Eva de Jong
Aquilla Ngahere being treated by NZ Army dental officer Mary Engelbrecht at the free mobile dental clinic in Whanganui. Photo / Eva de Jong
A free mobile dental clinic in Whanganui is shining a light on the high price of dental care hurting oral healthcare in the wider region.
Ngāti Rangi, Te Oranganui Trust, Cliff Dental and the NZ Defence Force joined forces to provide a mobile dental clinic based at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tupoho in Castlecliff.
The service is providing free treatment over the weekend for patients booked in by iwi providers.
At last week’s clinic in Ohakune about 150 people received dental care, but the number of patients was anticipated to double at this weekend’s Whanganui clinic.
Twenty-six-year-old Aquilla Ngahere underwent three extractions - two normal teeth and one wisdom tooth - at the mobile dental clinic on Friday.
”There was some infection and it was better for my health to get them out,” Ngahere said.
“A lot of my friends and family members would rather go through pain than fork out thousands of dollars for fillings or a new set of teeth.”
Te Oranganui chief executive Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata said she was “mind-boggled” by the extent of oral health issues she had seen at the Ohakune clinic.
She said “teeth were right down to the gum” and the level of decay reminded her of photos seen on smoking packages.
In the most severe case, one patient had to have 14 teeth extracted.
“The other thing that just blew me away was some of the stories people told us about how they can’t afford to go to the dentist so they just extract their own teeth.
“As babies we used to use cotton, but as adults they’re using fishing line or pliers.”
A Te Oranganui survey found that cost was the most significant barrier to accessing regular oral healthcare.
There was also a lack of services in rural communities, a struggle to find transport to dental appointments and dental care being low on families’ priority lists.
Other financial needs such as “just putting food on the table” came first for families.
“There’s also the whakamā [shame] of going to a dentist and knowing that they have significant dental health issues and that a dentist is likely to tell them about that.”
Ngahere said the free service was the main reason she signed up for the mobile dental clinic: “Dentists are bloody expensive”.
“I think it’s great, the people are doing great work.”
NZ Army dental officer Mary Engelbrecht and army dental assistant Melina von Kwiatkowski outside the free mobile dental clinic in Whanganui. Photo / Eva de Jong
Mathew Ihaka said he had last seen a dentist about four years ago.
At the mobile dental clinic, he had three teeth extracted but said it “wasn’t too painful”.
“I think everyone’s happy to have it be free and get what work they need done.”
Walsh-Tapiata said the 20-35 age group were showing up with oral health issues connected to diet and the level of sugar in food, whereas older people had gum issues but their teeth were still quite healthy.
“So this has a whole lot of connections to a range of other issues in our communities.”
NZ Army officer commanding defence dental services Major Bronwyn Clulow said the main services the dentists were providing were extractions, fillings or restorations and a general clean by oral health therapists.
“I think we’re only touching the tip of the iceberg.”
There was a waitlist for appointments at the mobile dental clinic.
“We’ve attempted to keep our registrations relatively contained but as people are hearing of this they’re just turning up, and unfortunately we’re really full.”
She said oral healthcare needed to be addressed in the region: “Talking with whānau, they’ve said I can’t save my teeth but I want to save the teeth of my mokopuna [children]”.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
