Some hard facts

Decayed teeth removed in 250,000 adults

Every year about a quarter of a million New Zealand adults have teeth removed due to decay.

Highest unmet need for dental care

New Zealand recorded the highest unmet need for adult dental care among 11 comparable countries in 2020.

Decayed teeth removed in 1-in-10 children

About one in 10 children have teeth removed due to decay.

40% of adults can’t afford dental care

In 2020 well over 1.5 million or 40% of adults were estimated to have an unmet need for dental care due to cost. Among Māori and Pasifika adults the figure is more than 50%.

31% increase in hospitalisations

Publicly funded hospitalisation rates for oral health increased by 31% from 2007/08 to 2018/19, while the population increased by 17%.

Low workforce numbers still falling

New Zealand’s dentist and dental specialist workforce is one of the lowest per capita in the OECD. The number of practising dentists and dental specialists has dropped.

Oral health care gets only 2% of funding

Funding for oral health care amounts to just over 2% of Vote Health operational funding.

Cost estimated for public scheme

Research published in 2019 estimated a public scheme for “basic dental services” for low-income adults would cost between $187 million and $450 million per year.

Sugar problem highest in OECD

New Zealand’s level of sugar consumption per capita is one of the highest in the OECD.

No plans to address sugar

Government policy on sugar consumption is to rely on industry self-regulation and a sugar tax does not appear to be on its agenda.