Back to school with an oral health check
The school holidays are over, and it’s time for children and their parents to brush up on dental health routines.
After a summer of sweet snacks and Christmas treats, the start of the new school year is the perfect time to establish a
healthy dental routine, says Waikato DHB Community Oral Health Service Manager Diane Pevreal.
She recommends children get an oral health check, available free to children from birth to 12, and adolescents from 13
to 17 through 0800 TALK TEETH (0800 825 583).
Waikato District Health Board has invested in six new purpose-built dental clinics on school sites around the region, at
Cambridge Middle School, Peachgrove Intermediate School, Frankton Primary School, Fairfield Intermediate School,
Morrinsville Primary School and Firth Primary School in Matamata.
Waikato DHB will retain a lease agreement with Crawshaw School in Hamilton to continue using its existing dental clinic,
and Tokoroa Hospital’s dental clinic is currently being refurbished, and will be the eighth community dental clinic, due
to reopen in March.
In addition, new state-of-the-art mobile dental vans will visit selected schools throughout the region. The mobile
dental vans will park on schools sites until all enrolled children have been seen.
“The service is highly mobile, allowing it to be back at schools more frequently where decay is a problem and revisit
children most in need,” says Pevreal. “Our focus is shifting to preventive care and this unit is equipped to diagnose
decay and treat it in the early stages before fillings are required.
Children who do not have a new clinic at their school will receive treatment at a mobile service, or may need to travel
to a clinic.
In 2009 Waikato DHB announced a major overhaul to its School Dental Service, at a cost of $9.7million, after it found
that 77 of the 78 school-owned dental clinics staffed by Waikato DHB needed replacing or refurbishment to comply with
legislation and standards.
Dental therapists would like to encourage parents to come to appointments with their children and inspect their new
facilities.
Therapists will be available to answer any questions parents have about improving their children’s dental health, and
preschoolers of any age are also welcome to see a dental therapist (make an appointment through 0800 TALK TEETH or 0800
825 583).
Pevreal says staff want to help parents get children into a healthy dental routine, including brushing teeth twice a day
(morning and night).
She also warns parents to watch what goes into school lunch boxes, particularly food and drinks high in sugar, such as
muesli bars, fruit leathers, biscuits, and carbonated soft drinks. “There is nothing wrong with (drinking) milk or
water, and juice can be just as damaging as fizzy drinks,” says Pevreal. “We advise parents to do a quick check of lunch
boxes and see if the choices look healthy, such as sandwiches, cheese, raw vegetables, yogurt and fruit. Thirsty kids
need water – money can be saved by encouraging kids to drink it.”
• Visit www.waikatodhb.health.nz/oralhealth for more information, including the current locations of the mobile dental units. Or call 0800 TALK TEETH (07 859 9160)
to enrol in the free oral health service (for 0 to 17-year-olds) or to make an appointment.
Check out our media releases on www.waikatodhb.health.nz/news
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