The Dental Team
Dentists are responsible for helping you take care of your oral health. They have extensive knowledge and skills to diagnose and treat wide range of problems that affect your teeth and mouth. Although they are trained initially for five years at a university they continue to keep brushing up on their skills throughout their careers Read More »
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Winds of Change
The New Zealand Dental Association's "Winds of Change" regional conference was opened at St James Theatre in Wellington by the Associate Minister of Health, Hon Peter Dunne and the NZDA president Dr Mark Goodhew. The conference theme that reflected the sweeping changes that continue to challenge dentists and dentistry brought together a cutting-edge group of international and national speakers. Registrations for this conference were at record levels with over 850 dentists, dental hygienists and other dental professionals attending the conference.
Dr Goodhew, in his speech, highlighted the era of rapid change and improvement in dental practice that have contributed to something of a golden age for clinical dentistry. 'It is a fascinating and rewarding time to be a dentist' he stated.
Dr Goodhew asked if the government's voluntary bonding scheme for recently qualified doctors, nurses and midwives could be extended to include dental graduates. He said, 'Dentistry, like other professions, faces a real challenge to make practicing in smaller population centres- and less popular specialties viable and attractive options.
He praised the efforts of the dentists for their positive role in the upcoming oral health survey. He said, 'the survey will provide us with much material to gauge the changes in oral health in New Zealand', and suspected that access to care for all New Zealanders will be one of the areas under most scrutiny.
He also discussed the increased involvement with industry partners such as Colgate and others which has led to the launch of educational initiatives such as the seasonal reminder to change your toothbrush campaign and ongoing success of events such as Oral Health Month and World Oral Health Day. In particular, children's oral initiatives were highlighted such as an in-school brushing programme whereby Colgate and the NZDA have donated 5,000 free toothbrushes and provided oral health education. Such initiatives played a strong part in encouraging positive change in the oral care habits of New Zealanders.