Hundreds of children are waiting to see child dental services in Central, waiting list figures from Te Whatu Ora Southern (formerly Southern District Health Board) show.

The Southern Community Oral Health team has staff shortages affecting child dental services in the district, Te Whatu Ora Southern said.

Across Central Otago 458 children are waiting to be seen (representing 15.4 percent of the enrolled children).

This is made up of 224 children in Alexandra, 138 in Cromwell, 46 in Omakau, 24 in Ranfurly, and 26 in Roxburgh. 

As a percentage of children waiting per clinic, Omakau has the biggest at 33.6 per cent, followed by Alexandra with 19.2 per cent and Roxburgh 18.8 per cent. 

In total, there are almost 3,000 children enrolled with the clinics in these towns.

One local family said they have taken their child elsewhere to be seen and another said they had visited a dentist and paid for an appointment as they did not want to wait. 

A Te Whatu Ora Southern spokesperson said the team prioritises children in urgent need of dental care. 

“We know that waiting for dental services is frustrating and concerning for parents and caregivers… We are actively recruiting, and a new team member will start in September to support the Central Otago team.”

Wānaka and Wakatipu join Central with waiting lists. There are 480 children waiting in Wānaka and 1,178 in Wakatipu. 

A part-time oral health therapist (three days a week) in Wānaka is providing onsite services which will assist with reducing the waiting list there.

Te Whatu Ora Southern said staff are looking at other ways to provide dental care to our community including teledentistry, supporting preschool groups with oral health promotion, dental education, fluoride varnish and tooth brushing programmes.

If your child has a dental emergency, phone 0800 672 543 (Otago) to get in touch with a contracted dentist.

Ministry of Health advice on dental care for children is here.

Watch a video from the New Zealand Dental Association on how to teach tamariki to brush their teeth here.