ABSTRACT
As a career-long public health dentist spanning 25 years, I have had the privilege of working in two very different service delivery models providing dental care for children in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Neither model is perfect, but what is clear is that the facilities and workforce model that does exist in a country can have a profound impact on which children end up accessing that care and which children do not.
Subject(s)
Dental Auxiliaries/statistics & numerical data , Dental Care for Children/organization & administration , Health Services Accessibility , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Community Dentistry , DMF Index , Dental Auxiliaries/economics , Dental Restoration, Permanent/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Infant , New Zealand , School Dentistry , State Dentistry , United Kingdom , WorkforceABSTRACT
This paper describes a dental access initiative in Northland, New Zealand, to investigate the feasibility and benefits of engaging a mobile community dentist to accept referrals of children who required treatment beyond the scope of practice of dental therapists. The pilot programme aimed to provide equitable and timely access to the services of a publicly funded dentist, for children living in the more economically-deprived and rural areas of Northland.
