A group called Dental for All is calling for the government to make dental care free for all adults.
The group, which includes practising dentists, is launching an online petition on Monday.
This follows a recent poll conducted by Talbot Mills and commissioned by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, which found about three-quarters of adults in New Zealand delayed visiting a dentist because of the cost, and only 43 percent had visited a dentist in the last year.
The poll showed 74 percent of people strongly agreed or agreed that adult dental care should be funded in the same way it is funded for children. Children’s dental care is currently free in New Zealand.
Public dentist Hugh Trengrove said dental care was a basic human right, and it was inequitable that many people could not access it.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said in a statement that dental care was unaffordable for many New Zealanders and was “adding to the health inequities that plague our system”.
But in November last year when the “Tooth be told report” was released Finance Minister Grant Robertson said going straight to providing universal dental care would cost well over $1 billion a year in extra funding.
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