Bringing The Smile Back To Taumarunui: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Calls For Urgent Action On Dental Equity

A strong community turnout at the recent Hapori Hauora Day in Taumarunui has further reinforced the urgent need for accessible dental services across the Southern Waikato region—and Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB) is calling for immediate action.

Held at Taumarunui Hospital, the event—delivered by local and Te Whatu Ora services—was supported by Te Tiratū IMPB and its dedicated Whānau Voice kaimahi.

It offered a range of on-the-spot services that included cardiac/diabetes/cancer screening, an eye clinic, immunisations, gall bladder/hernia/haemorrhoid banding specialists, to skin lesion clinics.

But it was the dental education and support that drew the biggest queues and the strongest reaction from whānau – proof that the mobile dental van is not coming regularly enough to serve the locals.

“Whānau are telling us loud and clear—oral health is not a luxury; it’s a basic need,” said Brandi Hudson of Te Tiratū IMPB. “Whānau are doing their best with what little they have, prioritising their tamariki even when they’re in pain themselves.”

Many parents at the event expressed deep concern to get their tamariki seen—lining up in long queues for an on-the-spot consult with the visiting dental teams.

“I know my teeth are in bad shape, but I just can’t afford to get them fixed,” said one Māmā of three under eight. “So I do everything I can to make sure my kids get their teeth checked regularly—so they don’t end up like me.”

A Silent Crisis: Lack of Dental Access Hurts Whānau

Te Tiratū is urgently advocating for regular mobile dental services to be embedded across the rohe. For many whānau in this rural region, there are few local dentists, long travel times to urban centres, and unaffordable treatment costs—all of which have led to painful choices and long-term health consequences.

“Our kaumātua can’t travel easily, our tamariki are missing out on check-ups, and too many of our people live in pain or lose teeth simply because they can’t afford treatment,” said another whānau.

Poor oral health is often invisible—but its impact is far-reaching. It affects nutrition, self-esteem, and is closely linked to chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. While the Hapori Hauora Day offered oral health education, Te Tiratū stresses that education without access is not enough.

Systemic Barriers Confirmed by Whānau

The Hauora Hapori Day also reinforced longstanding issues already identified by Te Tiratū and shared with Te Whatu Ora back in its Hauora Māori Priorities Summary Report (September 2024).

These include:

• Inadequate transport options especially for kaumātua due to no wharepaku (toilets) on board. For older kaumātua, this makes travel inaccessible and undignified.
• Cultural safety concerns were raised about staff within some Te Whatu Ora services lacking cultural awareness and sensitivity – particularly the significance of karakia.
• Fragmented service delivery and poor system coordination
• A lack of local specialist care including dental, eye, and hearing services
• Whānau forced to prioritise cost over care—often choosing extractions instead of treatment.
• Financial strain on whānau like Kaumātua are using their limited resources to pay for health services that should be free or more accessible. Travel to major hospitals such as Waikato often requires whānau to take unpaid leave, cover fuel and accommodation costs, and absorb lost income—placing significant strain on already stretched households.

Te Tiratū is advocating for a centralised, whānau-friendly health hub model in Taumarunui—one that brings dental, mental health, pharmacy, physio and disability services under one roof, with seamless referral pathways.

Growing Our Own Māori Dental Workforce

The long-term solution, according to Te Tiratū, lies in investing in Māori-led health workforce development.

With Māori dental hygienists, therapists, and dentists among the fastest-growing health professions nationally, there is an opportunity to build a future where whānau are cared for by practitioners who understand their cultural context.

“When our tamariki see Māori dentists in our communities, they believe it’s possible for them too,” said Hudson. “We must invest now in a workforce that reflects and respects our people.”

From Pop-Up to Permanent Solutions

While one-day events like Hapori Hauora offer hope and immediate support, Te Tiratū is clear: the real work is structural. The IMPB will continue to push for systemic reform, locally and nationally, so that whānau don’t have to wait for an event to access basic care.

“We don’t just want pop-up days—we want a system where oral health is treated as a right, not a privilege,” said Hudson.

© Scoop Media