Oral Health community forums in Dannevirke and Pahiatua

02/10/2009 | Oral Health Forum - Tararua

Community forums regarding the introduction of mobile dental clinics for children and adolescents will be held in Dannevirke and Pahiatua on 22 October, 2009. The forums will be an opportunity for public input into designing the timetable and travel route of the mobile service in the MidCentral District Health Board region.

At the meetings the public will have the opportunity to hear from the project team, and local dental therapists, and to take part in selecting sites.

Site selection needs to take into consideration access for children, physical space available, access to ablutions, availability to parking and public transport, long term plans for schools, and site security. Community input will also contribute to decisions on how long a clinic should remain at each site.

MDHB Child and Oral Health Project manager Kate Aplin said: “The community meetings will be held throughout the district and focus on the best sites for the mobile clinics, both during and outside school terms.”

The school dental service has been part of the New Zealand way of life – clinics and the dental nurse’s trademark cotton wool fairies have enjoyed iconic status. The new service combines the best of the traditional service with new technology to ensure good oral health for future generations.

Five new mobile dental clinics, in addition to the existing three, will be in service around the region by mid 2010, along with three two-chair fixed clinics in Palmerston North, as part of a national programme aimed at meeting the Ministry of Health’s vision of “Good Oral Health for All, for Life”.

Four single-chair and four two-chair mobile clinics will operate in the MDHB region in an attempt to lift the current chair use rate of 37 percent to 80 percent and improve access to dental care for low income, rural, Maori and Pacific children and adolescents by taking the service to where the children are.

A decision on the location of the clinics, fixed and mobile, is expected to be made in November 2009 and will be widely communicated.  This will involve detailed discussion with schools and include the schedule for mobile services.

For more information about the new service go to www.midcentraldhb.govt.nz/oral-health or www.talkteeth.govt.nz

Public meeting times:

• Thursday 22 October, Dannevirke Council Chambers, 26 Gordon St; 10am – 12pm.
• Thursday 22 October, Pahiatua Town Hall, Kiwi St;
  6.30 – 8.30pm.

For those unable to attend a meeting, feedback is encouraged and can be sent to:

Kate Aplin:
kate.aplin@midcentraldhb.govt.nz or phone (06) 350-9129

CONTACT: Communications Unit: (06) 350-8945

Facts about the new service configuration 3 fixed clinic sites 8 mobile clinics – 4 single and 4 double chairs Cost $3.9m to purchase the new mobile clinics and build three fixed chairs as well as equip them Services will be still provided from schools The service will see 23,000 children and 2700 adolescents each year Service will include school holidays First changes will be coming February 2010 New service fully operational by December 2010 The new mobile clinics are designed by dental therapists along with technical experts Each will have waste and communication facilities, waiting room, sound system and climate control Dental therapists will be able to take xrays and read them on the spot.