Dental Advocates Urge Political Parties To Address Oral Health “Crisis” This Election

A new election resource from Dental for All reveals the dental policies – and lack of dental policies – released by political parties as part of their 2026 election platforms.

“Our oral health system is in crisis, and the costs of this neglect are huge, but this issue has largely been ignored by political parties this election. We urge all political parties to commit to addressing the urgent need in communities that has resulted from the privatised model for adult dental care, and the underfunding of children’s oral healthcare within the public system,” says Hana Pilkinton-Ching, campaigner for Dental for All.

The Green Party and now Te Pāti Māori have included universal free dental care and primary care in their 2026 election platforms. Labour are campaigning on making GP visits and other health services free as part of their Medicard, but have not included dental, despite campaigning on free dental care for under-30s at the 2023 election. None of the current coalition parties have released dental policies.

A Talbot Mills poll released in March shows increased support for bringing dental care into the public health system. 86% of New Zealanders support bringing dental care into the public health system, and 80% believe dental care should be free for adults. The poll found strong support across the political spectrum.

“Aotearoa pioneered publicly funded dental care for children over a century ago. We have the workforce, the experience and the evidence to build on that legacy. What we need now is the political commitment to make accessible oral healthcare a reality for everyone,” says Samuel Carrington, Associate Dean Māori and Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry, and member of the Dental for All coalition.

The Government recently announced an increase in the number of funded places for domestic students to study dentistry at the University of Otago from 60 to 72. An increase in training seats was one of the policy steps proposed in the report released in April, ‘Fixing Oral Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Costed Policy Plan for Delivering Dental for All’.

“Any investment in growing Aotearoa’s oral health workforce is absolutely welcome, but training more dentists alone will not address the significant barriers people face in accessing dental care. We already have a highly skilled oral health therapy workforce trained to deliver preventive and restorative care, yet we are not fully utilising their potential. If we are serious about improving oral health outcomes, particularly for Māori and communities experiencing the greatest inequities, we need to invest in the entire oral health workforce alongside expanding publicly funded dental services,” says Carrington.

“We know from Health New Zealand’s own data that just 3.7% of dentists and dental surgeons work in the public system,” says Harriet Wild, Director of Policy & Research at Toi Mata Hauora Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, another member of the Dental for All coalition.

“Public Futures Aotearoa’s new report has shown that 80% of all new public health funding in the last 3 years has gone into the private sector, at the expense of the public health system. This erodes the capacity and capability of the public system to deliver care, resulting in spiralling waitlists, health workforce burnout and crumbling infrastructure,” says Wild.

“With limited public sector roles, many clinicians are forced into insecure private conditions with unpredictable incomes and intense commercial pressures. This lack of stability is alarming for new graduates entering the profession, leaving many with no choice but to cross the ditch to Australia in search of better opportunities. Implementing Dental for All through a publicly funded Adult Community Oral Health Service transforms our profession by creating secure, salaried public positions.” says Chanae Ihimaera, Senior Lecturer in Oral Health at AUT.

“We have a robust, costed model for free, universal and Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare delivered through an Adult Community Oral Health Service. We know this policy has public support, now we just need political parties to pick this up. We will not stand for another three years without action while people are suffering in pain,” says Pilkinton-Ching.

Notes:

• Dental for All is a campaign for free, universal and Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare as part of the public health system. We are supported by a coalition of unions, oral health clinicians and academics, campaigners, service providers, and advocacy organisations.
• See Dental for All’s election resource for information about the dental policies released by political parties this election; https://www.dentalforall.nz/election
• Polling conducted by Talbot Mills Research surveyed 1060 individuals (using nationally representative respondents 18 years and over). The maximum sampling error is 3.1%. Fieldwork was conducted between 12 and 24 March 2026.

– In response to the question, ‘Adult dental care is largely privatised. Do you support dental care being brought into the public healthcare system?’: 83% supported, including 88% of Labour voters and 78% of National voters.

– In response to the question, ‘Do you support free dental care for adults, as it is for under-18s?’: 80% supported, including 87% of Labour voters and 76% of National voters.

– We are happy to release further details of these polling results on request.

• The increase to Government-funded places for domestic students at the University of Otago is the first increase since 2014.

– 1961: increased to 60

– 1984: deceased to 54

– 2014: increased to 60

• Dental for All’s report, ‘Fixing Oral Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Costed Policy Plan for Delivering Dental for All’ was released in April 2026. This sets out a costed model for free, universal and Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare delivered through an Adult Community Oral Health Service, including a network of 701 publicly-owned community clinics staffed by salaried oral health professionals. The estimated operating costs for the proposed model are $936 million per year, alongside a one-off capital investment of $1.1 billion.
• The recent report ‘Who owns the health system? How public funding is driving private profit’ was published on Tuesday 27 October 2026 by Public Futures Aotearoa. The report was commissioned by three health unions: NZNO, ASMS and the PSA, with support from the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR).
• Another recent report published by the Public Service Association (PSA), ‘Children’s Oral Health Workers: Voices for Dental for All’, features the voices of 19 people working in the current public provision of care for under 18 year olds.
• A 2024 report by FrankAdvice for Dental for All, ‘The social, economic, and fiscal costs of the current settings for adult oral health’, estimates the current model is costing billions each year due to the downstream effects of unmet need for oral healthcare. This includes $2.5 billion in lost productivity, $3.1 billion in lost quality of life and further costs due to additional strain on the health system.
• In the 2024/25 NZ Health Survey, 43% of adults reported unmet need for dental care due to cost. In comparison, 14.9% of adults reported unmet need for GP due to cost.

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