Auckland District Health Board said increasing demand on its emergency oral health services had led it to introduce a phone booking system to stop patients lining up for hours outside its clinic. He said it was time for a working group to get together and sort out a long-term strategy for getting on top of oral health care. Arish Naresh chairs the Dental and Oral Health Therapists Association and is the executive director of allied scientific and technical at Capital and Coast District Health Board. "The last oral health survey was done in 2009 and the last oral health strategy was in 2008, so we are 11 years on from the last strategic piece of work in the area of oral health." Health Minister David Clark acknowledged people were dealing with what he called "third world health conditions" as a result of bad oral health and inability to access treatment.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 12, 2019 20:26 UTC