When our teeth and gums are looked after, our whole wellbeing is improved. Dental care means being able to share smiles with the people we love. It means being confident to connect socially and express ourselves.

But people in successive governments have chosen to treat mouth health differently to the rest of our bodies by excluding dental care from the public health system. It’s the only aspect of health where people and families are expected to pay the full cost in the private market. As a result, far too many of us are locked out of proper care for our teeth and gums. This is why we need people powered change to turn the situation around.

The Dental for All coalition began in early 2022, when ActionStation campaigner, Max, began to organise dentists, unionists, anti-poverty campaigners and other interested parties into a loose coalition. Over that year, the group met six times to discuss current barriers to oral healthcare, tactics, and to formalise a simple yet ambitious goal: the expansion of universal dental care to everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand, regardless of age. Within this was a recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the unique barriers faced by Māori, and the importance of by Māori, for Māori approaches to oral healthcare.

In November 2022, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), a member of the Dental for All coalition, released the Tooth be Told report, which established an evidentiary basis for the current rates of unmet oral health needs in Aotearoa, and solidified a call for universal dental care. In March 2023, a poll conducted by Talbot Mills, and commissioned by ASMS, found that 74% of people strongly agreed or agreed that adult dental care should be funded the same way it is for children. Following this, ActionStation launched a petition called Make dental care free for all, which has mobilised 16,700 people in support. This petition was delivered to Hon Ayesha Verrall (Health Minister, Labour) and Ricardo Menendez March (Health Spokesperson, Greens) in early October 2023.

This September, ActionStation hired a full-time Dental campaigner, Clea Guy-Allen, who has helped take the campaign to the next level.

During the election period, universal dental was a topic of debate and discussion within the media and amongst parties. Te Pāti Māori, Labour, the Greens, and NZ First all had policies focussed on expanding access to dental, albeit in different ways (free dental for whānau earning less than $60,000 per annum; free dental expanded to under 30s; free dental care for all; and expanding free annual checkups and x-rays for 18-25 year olds, Community Service Card holders, and Super Gold Card holders; respectively). During this period, the topic of dental was covered in the media, including Newsroom and The Spinoff, with comment(s) from those in the Dental for All coalition.

Members of Dental for All attended the NZ Dental Association summit in Parliament in September 2022. We organised some of the media engagement mentioned above; arranged for the handover of our petition; and engaged with Labour and the Greens in particular, as dental policies were developed and announced.

Since the election, Max, Clea and Kayli have been developing new campaign, media and community outreach plans to fit the new political context. The Dental for All coalition met in early December and set their campaign strategy for the next three years.