New poll shows majority of Kiwis postponing dental visits due to cost concerns

New Zealand: According to a recent poll conducted by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), 72% of New Zealanders have put off a trip to the dentist due to worries about the high costs involved.

The poll also found that seven out of ten people want adult dental care to be funded in the same way it is for children. This comes at a time when a quarter of New Zealand adults have teeth removed annually due to decay.

Lack of subsidies and access to dental care

The ASMS has called on the government to fund access to adult dental care as the lack of subsidies limits people’s access to healthcare and adds to the inequities plaguing the health system.

The ASMS’ Sarah Dalton highlighted the overall cost of a visit and the lack of dentists in rural areas as the main issues for most Kiwis. She also noted that the lack of subsidies available for adults to access dental care makes the price the primary consideration.

“I think largely it is cost, although there are some parts of the country where there simply are no dentists, or it’s just very hard to access a dentist in a similar way to GPs,” she said.

 “But the difference here is that there are no subsidies available for adults to access dental care, so price is the primary consideration.”

Need for free dental care

One in three respondents to the poll revealed that they had not visited a dentist in over two years. This is because a visit to the dentist can cost more than $300, which is a significant expense for many New Zealanders.

Dalton has called for free dental care to be made available, which would enable people to take a preventative approach to their oral health. She believes that prevention is way better, particularly when it comes to oral health, and that providing free dental care would result in significantly better outcomes.

Cost of free dental care and funding proposals

Finance Minister Grant Robertson had previously stated that making dental care free would cost the government billions. However, Dalton contends that it would cost around $200 million to $450 million annually.

She is calling on the government to implement a sugar tax to fund the package. Despite this proposal, the government has stated that it will not consider a sugar tax. Dalton argues that there is a lot of damage caused by sugary drinks and sugar in general, and New Zealand has the second-highest sugar consumption in the OECD.

Source: 1news.co.nz