Media Release: NZDA Roadmap 2025–2030
NZ Dental Association launches Oral Health Roadmap 2025–2030: A vision to improve New Zealanders’ poor oral health.
The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) today launches its Roadmap Towards Better Oral Health for New Zealand 2025–2030, a bold, evidence-based strategy to lift the oral health of all New Zealanders.
This landmark document outlines a comprehensive plan to address persistent inequities, focus on prevention policies, improve access to care, and embed oral health as a fundamental component of general health and wellbeing.
The Roadmap is a response to decades of minimal progress in oral health outcomes for many communities, despite good intentions and well-meaning public health initiatives.
“Oral health is a mirror to overall health, and right now, what it’s showing us isn’t good,” said NZDA Director of Dental Policy, Dr Robin Whyman.
“Every year, thousands of New Zealanders are admitted to hospital for preventable dental conditions - this is a crisis that has been growing in plain sight.
“This Roadmap is our call to action - for government, communities, and the health sector to work together to prevent a generation from living with the consequences.”
The case for action: oral health in a poor state
One in three New Zealand adults has untreated tooth decay.
15% of adults have moderate to severe gum disease.
Over 35,000 people registered new claims for dental and facial injuries with ACC in 2023.
321,000 adults (7.4%) and 31,000 children (3.3%) had teeth removed in 2023/24 due to decay or infection.
8,000 children each year undergo general anaesthesia to have teeth removed due to decay.
Only 36% of adults in the most deprived areas of the country visited a dentist in the past year, with over half avoiding care due to cost.
The Roadmap sets out evidence-backed priorities and recommendations for systemic change, including:
Expanding community water fluoridation and restoring momentum following legal and logistical delays.
Introducing a levy on sugary drinks and clearer labelling to reduce sugar intake, a key contributor to tooth decay.
Addressing the dental workforce shortage, including improving Māori and Pacific representation.
Integrating oral health more directly into the wider healthcare system, including Universal Health Coverage.
Supporting the mental health and resilience of dental professionals.
Dr Whyman said that for too long, oral health has been the poor cousin of health planning in New Zealand.
He said public sector funding and services have focussed almost entirely on children and adolescents, while the oral health of our population has changed.
“Most people retain their teeth, and most people are aging with their own teeth. Like most health conditions, this requires public policy and planning to change and to focus on our current oral health needs. We’re calling on decision-makers to change that, and the Roadmap is a platform for that change,” he said.
“What we need now is national leadership, targeted investment, and a real sense of urgency so we can build a future where every New Zealander can smile with confidence.”
ENDS
For more information contact Daniel Paul 021 400 993