New report reveals societal costs of poor oral health

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 18. November 2024

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Across the world, the dental systems of developed countries continue to deteriorate, leaving increasing numbers of ordinary citizens with failing or critical oral health. Typically driven by increasing costs, opportunistic price gouging, meagre government funding and personnel flight, these dental health crises have become major political issues, particularly in countries like the UK. Although New Zealand is not generally included in such discussions, ongoing research portrays the country’s dental system as unstable and as an enormous, but as yet largely unrecognised, economic and social burden.

Following on from a report published in 2022, which revealed the disturbing fact that 40% of adults in the country could not afford dental care, a figure which rose to over 50% for those in the Māori and Pacific communities, a report published this month has exposed the extensive economic consequences of the ailing system. Commissioned by universal dental care coalition Dental for All, the report makes it clear that, when people are unable to seek dental treatment because of financial constraints, the ongoing pain and discomfort that they experience often wreaks havoc in their lives.

Speaking on this point to Radio New Zealand, Dr Hugh Trengrove, an Auckland-based public health dentist, explained how poor dental health may have not only personal repercussions but also wider societal impacts. He said: “It impacts your ability to sleep, to eat, to function daily, and it will certainly have an impact on your productivity.”

Dr Trengrove continued: “If you’ve got a toothache, even if it’s a transient background toothache, it will impact your ability to work, and also impacts your social interactions and your ability to engage with people. And if you’re in a work environment, there’s certainly productivity effects with that.”

The report goes further in showing how, multiplied across the entire adult population, the cumulative result of these individual pathologies is a substantial societal problem. Using a range of literature and statistical information, the report found that the current system was costing NZ$2.5 billion (€1.4 billion^*) per year in lost productivity and NZ$3.1 billion in lost life satisfaction or quality of life.

The arguments for and against the government provision of universal dental care invariably turn on the question of cost. Is it more expensive for the government to establish a robust dental care system that supports a healthy population or to continue to privately outsource this care at a prohibitive cost, thereby damaging the health of citizens and of the economy as a whole. The socially ethical answer is painfully obvious.

The report, titled The Social, Economic, and Fiscal Costs of the Current Settings for Adult Oral Health. Adult Oral Health in Aotearoa: The Costs of Inaction?, was published in November 2024.

Editorial note:

^* Calculated on the OANDA platform for 18 November 2024.