Community Voice Ignites Free Denture Initiative In Hauraki

With a commitment to improving health outcomes for all in Hauraki and a dedication to respond to community voice, former locality Te Tara o Te Whai marks yet another significant step towards addressing health barriers in Hauraki. In partnership with dental provider Waikato Dental, Te Tara o Te Whai has officially launced their free mobile denture initiative Niho Kēhua ki Hauraki- available to those living in Hauraki.

Oral-health has been identified as a top health priority for the Hauraki region and through community engagement, this has fuelled the development of a tailored oral health and now denture initiative that scratches the surface towards addressing the extensive need for funded oral-health care.

“Born out of community voice, our denture initiative “Niho Kēhua ki Hauraki” provides a full-circle pathway of treatment for whānau who are needing partial or full dentures”, explains Te Tara o Te Whai Programme Manager Michelle Paekau-Neho. “From feedback received through our current oral-health initiative, many whānau were without teeth and unable to entertain the idea of dentures due to cost being a confronting barrier for most. In creating a denture initiative, we have been able to provide a complete pathway of full oral-health care to those otherwise unable to while simlutaneously restoring the confidence of many”. There have been 66 expressions of interest received to date.

The partnership with Waikato Dental includes Director and dentist Dr Hyrum Martin who operates alongside Dr Terrence Reid. Dr Hyrum explained “Waikato Dental spend a lot of time in small communities offering their mobile dental service to people who were previously unable to access dental care”.

With a shared vision for improving health outcomes in small communities, collaboration between Te Tara o Te Whai and Waikato Dental was a “no-brainer”. Dr Terrence Reid adds, “If I could sum it up in one sentence or a phrase, what I think it's really about, it is the people. Or if I ask myself why I do dentistry? It's for the people”.

“It's becomes an extremely rewarding job to deliver treatment to people who are otherwise unable to access care, especially in those remote areas. Being able to give people a positive outlook on not only dentistry itself, but their own personal well-being and boost to their confidence by restoring their smile is really just the cherry on top” adds Dr Terrence. “A lot of people face for a long time the inability to eat and, as we have learned through this collaboration, leads to problems associated with malnourishment.

“People hold on to a lot of pain for a long period of time so being able to alleviate these issues drives the work we do”.

The entire denture process takes between three to four months for patients to receive their completed dentures.

Current mobile oral-health initiative Niho Ora ki Hauraki, in collaboration with Dental Planet has successfully provided fully funded treatment to more than 350 people in Hauraki. There are two final launches scheduled in the New Year. Niho Ora ki Hauraki will be operating out of Kaiaua during the January school holidays and then again in Manaia amid April school holidays.

With a mission of pursuing outcomes, equity and wellbeing, backbone support from Te Puna Hauora Matua o Hauraki (Hauraki PHO) has been integral in the success of community initiatives led by Te Tara o Te Whai. Funding received from Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora has also been a huge driving factor in the sustainability of both oral-health and denture intitiatives.

Expressions of interest are open for both initiatives, with applications accessible via Te Tara o Te Whai’s website or Facebook page.

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