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22nd December 2004, 11:20 PM
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OPEN WIDE: Nine-year-old Kieran Spargo at a check-up with Raroa Intermediate School dental therapist Debbie Wilkinson.
KENT BLECHYNDEN/Dominion Post
Dental service in decay
22 December 2004
By ANNA SAUNDERS
The school dental service is in crisis with children waiting up to three years to see a dental therapist.
And the number of children having dental surgery under general anaesthetic because their teeth are so decayed has quadrupled, with children as young as four having up to eight teeth removed.
A report by Wellington's school dental service to the Health Ministry says it faces severe staff shortages and many clinics do not meet health and safety standards.
The service describes the existing system, which began in 1921, as "unsustainable", and recommends scrapping the region's 92 traditional school-based clinics and replacing them with 12 community-based centres.
The report comes as tooth decay rates rise among young children internationally.
It follows new research by Otago University's paediatric dentistry department that says about 400 children a month have dental surgery under general anaesthetic.
The average age of the children was 4-1/2 and each child had between six and eight teeth extracted.
"It's because of diet and the frequency of eating," department head Bernadette Drummond said.
"A lot of children are grazing, sipping on sipper bottles, and their teeth don't get a rest.
"Our perception is that (surgery under anaesthetic) has increased. We haven't got good ongoing figures in New Zealand but it has easily quadrupled in the past 10 years."
The Health Ministry has asked each region to produce a report on the dental service amid concerns about aging equipment and an increase in tooth decay in children.
The reports will be collated, and a national framework will be developed next year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWellington community dental services manager Robin Whyman said change was needed to keep the school dental system running.
A community-based system had the potential to treat teenagers and adults as well as young children.
More preschoolers needed to see dental therapists, he said. Children should also see therapists every 18 months, rather than annually.
Under the present scheme, children can be enrolled with the school dental service when they are six months old, and can have annual appointments from the age of 2-1/2.
Government-funded visits to private dentists for primary school children are also available for severe dental problems.
But New Zealand Dental Association executive director David Crum said pay issues had prompted many dentists to pull out of the scheme.
The number of dental therapists, formerly called dental nurses, has dropped from 860 to 500 since 1990.
Wellington needed seven more part-time dental therapists, he said. Therapists were not well paid compared with nurses and teachers, earning from about $30,000 to $40,000 a year. They also worked in cramped, out-of-date conditions.
The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act, which came fully into force in September and allowed dental therapists to work in the private sector, was predicted to worsen shortages.
The shortages mean many frustrated parents are taking their children to private dentists rather than wait up to three years for free treatment.
Wellington dentist Phillip Chin said the number of children he treated had doubled in the past year because of long waiting lists for the school dental service. Clinics had not been updated since the 1950s and many did not comply with health and safety standards.
A Health Ministry spokesman said the high number of operations under general anaesthetic was partly because health and safety guidelines meant more of these operations had to be performed in hospitals.
RELATED LINKS
» More health news
» Have your say
» Subscribe to Archivestuff
OPEN WIDE: Nine-year-old Kieran Spargo at a check-up with Raroa Intermediate School dental therapist Debbie Wilkinson.
KENT BLECHYNDEN/Dominion Post
Dental service in decay
22 December 2004
By ANNA SAUNDERS
The school dental service is in crisis with children waiting up to three years to see a dental therapist.
And the number of children having dental surgery under general anaesthetic because their teeth are so decayed has quadrupled, with children as young as four having up to eight teeth removed.
A report by Wellington's school dental service to the Health Ministry says it faces severe staff shortages and many clinics do not meet health and safety standards.
The service describes the existing system, which began in 1921, as "unsustainable", and recommends scrapping the region's 92 traditional school-based clinics and replacing them with 12 community-based centres.
The report comes as tooth decay rates rise among young children internationally.
It follows new research by Otago University's paediatric dentistry department that says about 400 children a month have dental surgery under general anaesthetic.
The average age of the children was 4-1/2 and each child had between six and eight teeth extracted.
"It's because of diet and the frequency of eating," department head Bernadette Drummond said.
"A lot of children are grazing, sipping on sipper bottles, and their teeth don't get a rest.
"Our perception is that (surgery under anaesthetic) has increased. We haven't got good ongoing figures in New Zealand but it has easily quadrupled in the past 10 years."
The Health Ministry has asked each region to produce a report on the dental service amid concerns about aging equipment and an increase in tooth decay in children.
The reports will be collated, and a national framework will be developed next year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWellington community dental services manager Robin Whyman said change was needed to keep the school dental system running.
A community-based system had the potential to treat teenagers and adults as well as young children.
More preschoolers needed to see dental therapists, he said. Children should also see therapists every 18 months, rather than annually.
Under the present scheme, children can be enrolled with the school dental service when they are six months old, and can have annual appointments from the age of 2-1/2.
Government-funded visits to private dentists for primary school children are also available for severe dental problems.
But New Zealand Dental Association executive director David Crum said pay issues had prompted many dentists to pull out of the scheme.
The number of dental therapists, formerly called dental nurses, has dropped from 860 to 500 since 1990.
Wellington needed seven more part-time dental therapists, he said. Therapists were not well paid compared with nurses and teachers, earning from about $30,000 to $40,000 a year. They also worked in cramped, out-of-date conditions.
The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act, which came fully into force in September and allowed dental therapists to work in the private sector, was predicted to worsen shortages.
The shortages mean many frustrated parents are taking their children to private dentists rather than wait up to three years for free treatment.
Wellington dentist Phillip Chin said the number of children he treated had doubled in the past year because of long waiting lists for the school dental service. Clinics had not been updated since the 1950s and many did not comply with health and safety standards.
A Health Ministry spokesman said the high number of operations under general anaesthetic was partly because health and safety guidelines meant more of these operations had to be performed in hospitals.