Kerre Woodham: Healthy teeth are vital for a healthy life

There is absolutely no doubt that healthy teeth are vital for a healthy life.  

Poor dental care can actually kill you. There's a small number of cases from the States they read about recently where an untreated tooth abscess led to an infection that spread to the brain, and a number of children died as a result of that.  

Even without catastrophising, bad teeth are miserable. It's painful, leads to other infections throughout the body, it's unsightly - robs people of self-confidence if their teeth are all over the place.  

But at $353 per visit to the dentist, on average, dental health is not a priority for many people. It can't be. If the money's not there, it's not there.  

A new report has found that New Zealand's dental system as it stands is costing billions of dollars a year in lost productivity and social impact.  

The report from Dental for All, who are a group of health professionals, unions and poverty campaigners, is another call to arms to make free dental care universal, with campaigners saying the cost of not acting is exceeding what it would cost to bring dental into the public health care system.   

The argument against has always been the cost of it. We've seen how much our public healthcare system costs, ballooning costs, that successive chief executives of Health New Zealand have been unable to manage - bringing dental health into that adds another couple of billion to the cost. But Dental for All, and their argument is a bit like the argument David Seymour put up for funding more drugs from Pharmac. He said, well, it's going to cost us less in the long run than allowing diseases to develop and take hold within the community, so if we can prevent them from occurring in the first place, saves us down the track. That's precisely what Dental for All are arguing.  

While there is free dental care up until the age of 18, the New Zealand Dental Association policy director, Doctor Robin Wyman, told the Mike Hosking Breakfast, they believe free dental care should continue into your mid- 20s.  

“It would make some sense if you look at the research to increase the free dental care scheme which goes up to 18 years old into the mid 20s. That's where we see quite a peak of acute admissions into hospital in that young adult group. We're not talking about fractures and things like that, we're talking about infections and things that need to be treated.  

Where do you draw the line, though? If you said free, what is it? Is it a check up? Is it a filling? Is it root canal work? Is it veneers? What is it?  

I think we talk about the essential dental care - so check-ups and fillings, tooth out if that needed to happen, maybe you would go to root canal treatment, particularly if you're talking about front teeth and those sorts of areas. We're not talking about cosmetic treatments like veneers and orthodontics in that sort of area.” 

Dental for All estimates the current system is costing $2.5 billion in lost productivity, $ 3.1 billion in lost life satisfaction, or lack of quality of life.  

Another $103 million was spent on sick days through poor dental health. However, as Doctor Wyman pointed out to Mike they were looking at the lower 22 percentile, so not New Zealanders overall.  

This has come up periodically. The Greens proposed universal dental care, funded with the wealth tax. Labour were looking at free dental care when they were tossing out ‘please vote for us’ during the election campaign - one of them was free dental care for under 30s, gradually increasing that to the population overall.  

It is hugely expensive and it only gets worse as you get older. As teeth start to age, the gaps start to form, they start to erode and that's when you need the expensive dental work done. The crowns, the root canal and the like. If you can get through 15 to 18 and you don't need the orthodontics, the next time the big expenses hit is around about 50 plus as your teeth start to age.  

There are people who travel overseas because it is less expensive to go to Thailand and get your teeth done, even with the airfares, even with the stay in the hotel, than it is to go to New Zealand dentists.  

If things go Pete Tong, however, you're not covered by ACC, so it could end up costing you more in the worst-case scenario.  

All very well and good to talk about let's pay for the costs upfront and then we don't have to pay for the lost productivity, the quality of life.  You can make up any number really when it says look at your lost quality of life, lost productivity.  I've no doubt that there are people living in misery because of the state of their mouth and it's leading to bigger problems further down the track that sees them hospitalised.  

But again, if the money is not there, it's not t

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carrywood of morning's podcast from news Talk,
said b.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
There is absolutely no doubt that healthy teeth are vital
for a healthy life. Poor dental care can actually kill you.
There's a small number of cases from the States that
I read about recently where an untreated tooth abscess led
to an infection that spread to the brain and a

(00:33):
number of children died as a result of that. But
even without catastrophizing, bad teeth are miserable. It's painful, leads
to other infections throughout the body. It's unsightly, robs people
of self confidence if their teeth are all over the place.

(00:54):
But at three one hundred and fifty three dollars per
visit to the dentist on average, dental health is not
a priority for many people. It can't be. If the
money's not there, it's not there. A new report out
has found that New Zealand's dental system as it stands
is costing billions of dollars a year and lost productivity

(01:15):
and social impacts. The report from Dental for All who
Are a group of health professionals, unions and poverty campaigners,
is another call to arms to make free dental care universal,
with campaigners saying the cost of not acting is exceeding
what it would cost to bring dental into the public
healthcare system. The argument against has always been the cost

(01:37):
of it. We've seen how much our public healthcare system costs,
ballooning costs that successive chief executives of Health New Zealand
have been unable to manage. Bringing dental health into that
adds another couple of billion to the cost. But Dental

(01:59):
for All and their argument is a bit like the
argument David Seymour put up for funding more drugs from farmac.
He said, well, it's going to cost us less in
the long run than allowing diseases to develop and take
hold within the community. So if we can prevent them
from occurring in the first place, saves us down the track.

(02:19):
That's precisely what Dental for All are arguing. While there
is free dental care up until the age of eighteen,
the New Zealand Dental Association policy director, doctor Robin Wyman
told the My Costing Breakfast they believe free dental care
should continue into mid twenties.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
It would make some sense if you look at the
research to increase the free dental care scheme which goes
up to eighteen years old into the mid twenties. That's
where we see quite a peak of acute admissions into hospital,
and that young adult group with not we're not talking
about fractures and things like that. We're talking about infections
and things that need to be treated. Where do you

(02:57):
draw the line though, If you said free, what is it?

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Is it a check up?

Speaker 3 (03:01):
Is it a filling? Is it root canal work? Is
it veneers? What is I think we'd talk about the
central dental care, so check outs and fillings took out.
If that needed to happen, maybe you would go to
Rookine our treatment, particularly if you're talking about front teeth
and those sorts of areas. We're not talking about cosmetic
treatments like the years and orthodontics in that sort of area.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
So dental for all estimates, the current system is costing
two point five billion dollars in lost productivity, three point
one billion in lost life satisfaction or lack of quality
of life. Another one hundred and three million was spent
on sick days through poor dental health. However, as doctor
Wyman pointed out to Mike, they were looking at the

(03:43):
lower twenty two percentile, so not New Zealanders overall. This
has come up periodically. The Greens proposed universal dental care
funded with the wealth tax. Labor were looking at free
dental care when they were tossing out all please vote
for us during the election campaign. One of them was

(04:04):
free dental care for under the dities, gradually increasing that
to the population. Overall. It is hugely expensive and it
only gets worse as you get older. As teeth start
to teeth age as well, the gaps start to form,
they start to erode, and that's when you need the

(04:25):
expensive dental work done, the crowns, the root canal and
the like. If you can get through fifteen to eighteen
and you don't need the orthodontics the next time, the
big expense is hit is around about fifty plus as
your teeth start to age. There are people who travel

(04:45):
overseas because it is less expensive to go to Thailand
and get your teeth done, even with the airfares, even
with the stay in the hotel, than it is to
go to New Zealand dentists. If things go peep tong, however,
you're not covered by acc so could end up costing

(05:08):
you more in the worst case scenario. All very well
and good to talk about. Let's pay for the costs
up front, and then we don't have to pay for
the lost productivity the quality of life. I mean, you
can make up any number. Really, when it says look
at your lost quality of life, look at your lost productivity,

(05:29):
you can project. They have used treatory figures, so it's
not a complete Let's just throw a dart at the
dartboard and see what it lands on. And I have
absolutely no doubt that it's true. I have no doubt
that there is people living in misery because of the
state of their mouth, and it's leading to bigger problems
further down the track that sees them hospitalized. But again,

(05:52):
if the money is not there, it's not there. Just
as it's true of household accounts, it's true of government accounts.
Do we have two billion dollars right now to put
into universal health care, universal dental health care, adding that
to what we already can't pay for in the public
health system. Some people are lucky. Some people are born

(06:16):
with great teeth, never have to worry. Really. Others are
plagued from the time they're born with chalky teeth that
give way, cause problems, end up with cavities, can't afford
to treat them, and it just gets worse and worse
and worse. Is it a case of having to come

(06:38):
up with the money so we save money down the track?
Do you buy, even if you don't buy those exact figures,
do you buy that having a universal dental health care
system would save us money in the long run? Or
is it something that you just have to deal with yourself.

(07:01):
Pray that your parents gifted you good teeth. God. Back
in the olden days, the old and olden days, like
the forties, fifties, and sixties, women used to have their
teeth taken out before they got married and fitted with
dentchers so they didn't cost their husbands anything. Can you
imagine perfectly healthy teeth being ripped out of the mouth

(07:22):
of a nineteen year old, recently engaged woman as a
kind of dowry paid for by the bride's family. I mean,
it sounds macabre and archaic, and it's quite tri diden
happen to everyone, but to a lot of young women,
they had their teeth ripped out and fitted with dentchers
in their late teen's early twenties so that their husband

(07:44):
didn't have to pay for their dental care. We don't
want to get back to that now, do we.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
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