1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Over half of children on the dental surgery weight list 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: have been waiting more than four months. That's three thousand 3 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: kids waiting more than one hundred and twenty days health 4 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: in zed data. They are apparently in pain, some of them. 5 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: There's some complex issues. Samuel Carrington, Faculty of Dentistry at Otago. 6 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 2: You need good morning, Good morning, Ryan, how are you good? 7 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Thank you? What are you going to do to get 8 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: on the list. 9 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 2: Right? Well, by the time timebod, if you reach hospital care, 10 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,479 Speaker 2: they usually are quite in a lot of significant pain 11 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 2: and have multiple infected or edits teeth. So many of 12 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 2: these so many need several extractions and in some cases 13 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 2: for dental clearances under general So the level of disease 14 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 2: is not about poor oral hygien alone. It's actually about 15 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 2: death issues like poverty and nutrition, lack of early access 16 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 2: to the community oral health service. And if we had 17 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 2: a system that primarily focus on prevention, these children would 18 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 2: be treated much earlier with simpler and less traumatic procedures. 19 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 2: But right now their hospital dentist surgery is often the 20 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 2: end result of a systemic failure. 21 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: So just stop feeding them coca cola. 22 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 2: Well that's one part of it. But yeah, like I said, 23 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 2: it's a systemic issue. Unfortunately, our community Orehalse service is 24 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 2: under resource, understaff, and this all leads to children waiting 25 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 2: on the list and leading hospital level care. 26 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: So when they're on the list, are they guaranteed to 27 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: be in pain? Like for those who are waiting four months, 28 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: presumably you would get the extreme cases out of the 29 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: way first. So those who are waiting more than form 30 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: I mean, are their kids out there literally every day 31 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: in pain waiting for a dental surgery more than four months? 32 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,839 Speaker 2: Unfortunately there are And if you think about the weight issues, 33 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 2: so children in pain, you know they can't do things 34 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 2: like concentrate in school, They struggle to eat, they lose 35 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 2: a lot of sleeve. They often go through multiple appointments 36 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 2: to the community Orehalse Service and even to private practices 37 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 2: in order to get antibiotics to kind of alleviate that pain. 38 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 2: But what happens is it affects their development and their 39 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 2: ability to thrive. And it also it's noted impacting the child, 40 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 2: it's also impacting on the family, so that family carries 41 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: a huge emotional and financial burden. It's a terrible to 42 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 2: take time off work. Now it's a trope Travelt to appointment. 43 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: It's terrible. Nobody wants that. So what this backlog was 44 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: caused by the lockdowns? 45 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 2: Was it? 46 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: So we locked down then we had couldn't do any 47 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: of the surge. Reason then that the backlog we haven't 48 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: caught up. 49 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 2: That's correct, Yeah, okay, but it's also an outcome of 50 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 2: the system itself. So children were being pushed back for 51 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 2: their exams, their dental tickeay got worse, the list got bigger, 52 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 2: and then factor Adam was the fact that we were 53 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 2: having staff shortages. People were leaving, they were retiring. We 54 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 2: were having new graduates graduate from both universities Otago and 55 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 2: aut and a lot of them were going to Australia. 56 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 1: Are they still going there? 57 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 2: Absolutely? I also worked at the dental school and I 58 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 2: think about our graduating class last year, I'd say about 59 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 2: a quarter of them went over to Australia. 60 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: What would it normally be, Well. 61 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 2: The public system actually cries out for a lot of 62 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 2: our graduates. We had around about one hundred and forty 63 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 2: oral health therapist graduate year. But last year it was 64 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 2: the first time in my ten years of looking at 65 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 2: the university that I've seen a big chunk of our 66 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 2: graduates actually go to Australia because they couldn't find jobs here. 67 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: Sam, appreciate your time, Sam Carrington, a senior lecture off 68 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Otago. I mean 69 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: joined the Q Who Isn't Leaving? 70 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 2: I suppose? 71 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge. 72 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 2: Listen live to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, 73 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.