Children in New Zealand who meet the eligibility criteria for publicly funded health and disability services are entitled to free basic oral health services from birth to 17 years of age (until they turn 18). Enroll your child as soon as possible, so that you can arrange for the first checkup. From age 0 through eighth grade (senior year of middle school), dental therapists provide dental care in a community dental school or clinic. Dental therapists provide routine dental care and oral health education to children under 18 years of age.
Procedures they can perform include administration of local anesthetics, fillings, extraction of primary teeth, professional cleanings, fissure sealants, and fluoride applications. If care is beyond the scope of your practice, the dental therapist will refer you to an appropriate dentist or specialist dentist. New Zealand high school students entering Year 9, until their 18th birthday, are eligible for free basic dental treatment at participating offices. From freshman year of high school to age 18, dental care is provided by private dentists hired by District Boards of Health (DHB).
Two years later, the first all-female draft of dental nurses graduated: an expert in the use of the pedal-operated dental drill, which was often used without anesthesia. You will go to a local organization that cares for children's dental health and they will guide you through what you need to know and do. Parents of children 13 and older can choose where they would like their child to attend their dental check-ups. Harrop said he had witnessed the service go from strength to strength in terms of the equipment and materials that dental therapists were using now and the acceptance of the importance of dental care.
To enroll your child in a free dental service, call 0800 TALK TEETH (0800 825 58) or, for more information, visit the Ministry of Health website Let's Talk About Teeth. The local District Health Board (DHB) pays for basic dental services until you or your child turns 18. New Zealand celebrates 100 years of free dental care for children this year, and while most people's oral health has undoubtedly improved for many older Kiwis, the service will always be associated, rightly or wrongly, with the dreaded House of Murder, also known as the school's dental clinic. The state-funded School Dentistry Service began in 1921 to combat the country's poor oral health following World War I. If you have a Community Services Card, you can get free or low-cost emergency dental treatment to relieve pain or infection, such as emergency fillings or tooth extraction.
Dental care is free for teens until they turn 18; call 0800 Talk Teeth (0800 825 58) to find a contracted dentist near you. All students who enter high school in Year 9, and until they turn 18, are eligible for free basic dental treatment. Hundreds of East Coast teens will now have dental checkups, but a school principal says she shouldn't have had to fight for free service for the past 20 years.
