Reactive Dental Treatment for Low Income Adults
Haler Health recommends you regularly attend the dentist for a checkup and small amounts of work than only attend when you are having a problem. Hence we promote affordable dental wellness plans.
Waiting for toothache increases your chances of requiring root canal treatment or extraction (and on costs to put something in the gap). If you are on this page, you are probably already down this route and are looking for immediate reactive dental treatment - so here is some tips for low income adults.
Help us help you by contacting Haler Health if any of the information below is out of date or is incomplete. If you found this infomation helpful, we would appreciate you 'give back' by filling out our short Feedback Form.
Waiting for toothache increases your chances of requiring root canal treatment or extraction (and on costs to put something in the gap). If you are on this page, you are probably already down this route and are looking for immediate reactive dental treatment - so here is some tips for low income adults.
Help us help you by contacting Haler Health if any of the information below is out of date or is incomplete. If you found this infomation helpful, we would appreciate you 'give back' by filling out our short Feedback Form.
Relief of Pain
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Look at your DHB to find out what they can offer, and whether you qualify.
Caveats:
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Click on DHB name to go to the relevant site. 
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Relief of Pain offered by District Health Board directly
Whangarei: relief of pain service for patients with a community services card (CSC). The cost is $40-$50 but you will get as much treatment as they can do in 30mins.
Auckland: Greenlane clinic offers relief of pain treatment for one tooth at a cost of $40. It used to be a walk in clinic but now you have to book a time (up to 24h in advance) by ringing (09) 630 9809. They also run relief of pain clinics at Middlemore Hospital and Buckland Road which are walk-in clinics on a first in-first served basis. See here for more information
Hutt Valley: CSC patients are eligible for relief of pain treatment. The treatment costs about $50. At the time, if the dentist thinks that the rest of your dentition is past it they might recommend that you get all of your teeth out and that can be arranged at the hospital as well.Low income adults can ask their GP for a referral to have routine treatment done but might only be accepted if you are medically compromised. Prices are about $45 for the consult, $50-90 for fillings depending on how big they are, and $30 for a clean.
Wellington: There are clinics at Kenepuru and Wellington Hospital which offer relief of pain clinics (1 tooth at a time) for patients who have a community services card. It costs about $40 for an appointment and they do extractions, fillings, and the first stage of root canal treatment (need to go private to have it completed). They also do one full course of treatment for some patients. You need to have referral from a GP, have a CSC, pain/poor dentition, and a medical condition. Treatment is fairly comprehensive and can include extractions, fillings, dentures, and root canal treatments on front teeth. There is still a cost which you would be made aware of at the consultation appointment but it is much cheaper than going private. Ring to book in for emergency treatment: Wellington: (04) 385 5967, Kenepuru: (04) 978 2871
Christchurch: relief of pain service for WINZ beneficiaries. There is a charge (approx $45) for treatment. Call the Oral Health Centre (03) 364‑0250 to make an appointment. They give an appointment "range" so be prepared to wait a bit. CDHB also has a unique scheme called the full dental clearance pathway. If you have a CSC you can get a referral from a dentist or GP for a consult to have all of your teeth removed. This is generally done if the teeth are at the end of the road due to gum disease or decay. Price is approximately $250 which is a great deal cheaper than seeing a private dentist for a similar service. The hospital doesn't cover dentures afterwards.
Auckland: Greenlane clinic offers relief of pain treatment for one tooth at a cost of $40. It used to be a walk in clinic but now you have to book a time (up to 24h in advance) by ringing (09) 630 9809. They also run relief of pain clinics at Middlemore Hospital and Buckland Road which are walk-in clinics on a first in-first served basis. See here for more information
Hutt Valley: CSC patients are eligible for relief of pain treatment. The treatment costs about $50. At the time, if the dentist thinks that the rest of your dentition is past it they might recommend that you get all of your teeth out and that can be arranged at the hospital as well.Low income adults can ask their GP for a referral to have routine treatment done but might only be accepted if you are medically compromised. Prices are about $45 for the consult, $50-90 for fillings depending on how big they are, and $30 for a clean.
Wellington: There are clinics at Kenepuru and Wellington Hospital which offer relief of pain clinics (1 tooth at a time) for patients who have a community services card. It costs about $40 for an appointment and they do extractions, fillings, and the first stage of root canal treatment (need to go private to have it completed). They also do one full course of treatment for some patients. You need to have referral from a GP, have a CSC, pain/poor dentition, and a medical condition. Treatment is fairly comprehensive and can include extractions, fillings, dentures, and root canal treatments on front teeth. There is still a cost which you would be made aware of at the consultation appointment but it is much cheaper than going private. Ring to book in for emergency treatment: Wellington: (04) 385 5967, Kenepuru: (04) 978 2871
Christchurch: relief of pain service for WINZ beneficiaries. There is a charge (approx $45) for treatment. Call the Oral Health Centre (03) 364‑0250 to make an appointment. They give an appointment "range" so be prepared to wait a bit. CDHB also has a unique scheme called the full dental clearance pathway. If you have a CSC you can get a referral from a dentist or GP for a consult to have all of your teeth removed. This is generally done if the teeth are at the end of the road due to gum disease or decay. Price is approximately $250 which is a great deal cheaper than seeing a private dentist for a similar service. The hospital doesn't cover dentures afterwards.
Relief of Pain offered by contracted dentists
Auckland CSC scheme: can access emergency treatment (extractions and temporary dressings) at the same price as the hospital ($40 at time of writing) through a private dentist signed up to the scheme as long as you have a community services card. See this list of dentists (at the bottom of link page). Many people have recommended The Fono.
Waikato's Oral Heath Department outsources relief of pain service to contracted private dentists. This subsidised pricing for emergencies/toothache is available if you have a community services card. See this list.
Tairawhiti outsources relief of pain service to contracted private dentists: Gisborne A&E Dental (06) 929 1902, Mayfair Dental (06) 867 3956 and Ngati Porou Hauora (06) 867 8550
Palmerston North CSC scheme: Participating private practices will see you for relief of pain and do an extraction or filling. You have to pay $40 for the appointment. The rest of the treatment gets paid out of a fund set up by the DHB. This is a set amount of money so if it gets used before the end of the year, you can't get subsidised treatment. Ask the receptionist when you ring up if they are able to see you for subsidised CSC emergency treatment. You can also only use it twice a year. Additionally, if you are eligible for the emergency dental grant from WINZ then this must be used first, before the CSC option. You can get a referral from your GP for dental treatment at the hospital however they will only accept it if you are low income and medically compromised in some way.
Christchurch CSC emergency dental scheme: if you have a CSC and a toothache/broken tooth then certain dentists in Christchurch and Ashburton provide extractions/fillings/start root canal treatment for a cost to you of $15-$25. Thats right, you will not pay more than $25. They will only treat one tooth at a time. And you can't get checkups/routine care through this scheme. Well worth checking out if you qualify.
Auckland CSC scheme: can access emergency treatment (extractions and temporary dressings) at the same price as the hospital ($40 at time of writing) through a private dentist signed up to the scheme as long as you have a community services card. See this list of dentists (at the bottom of link page). Many people have recommended The Fono.
Waikato's Oral Heath Department outsources relief of pain service to contracted private dentists. This subsidised pricing for emergencies/toothache is available if you have a community services card. See this list.
Tairawhiti outsources relief of pain service to contracted private dentists: Gisborne A&E Dental (06) 929 1902, Mayfair Dental (06) 867 3956 and Ngati Porou Hauora (06) 867 8550
Palmerston North CSC scheme: Participating private practices will see you for relief of pain and do an extraction or filling. You have to pay $40 for the appointment. The rest of the treatment gets paid out of a fund set up by the DHB. This is a set amount of money so if it gets used before the end of the year, you can't get subsidised treatment. Ask the receptionist when you ring up if they are able to see you for subsidised CSC emergency treatment. You can also only use it twice a year. Additionally, if you are eligible for the emergency dental grant from WINZ then this must be used first, before the CSC option. You can get a referral from your GP for dental treatment at the hospital however they will only accept it if you are low income and medically compromised in some way.
Christchurch CSC emergency dental scheme: if you have a CSC and a toothache/broken tooth then certain dentists in Christchurch and Ashburton provide extractions/fillings/start root canal treatment for a cost to you of $15-$25. Thats right, you will not pay more than $25. They will only treat one tooth at a time. And you can't get checkups/routine care through this scheme. Well worth checking out if you qualify.
Other avenues
Maori Health Providers: check in your area. A lot of these places are staffed by final year dentistry students working under the supervision of a qualified dentist. Quite a few offer dental services. For example:
Canterbury Charity Hospital: free treatment but to qualify you must have used your entire $300 WINZ emergency dental grant for that year and be referred by a dentist. There is a comprehensive form that must be filled out. The waitlist is over 6 months long for treatment. You will see a different dentist each appointment as it is staffed by volunteer dentists.
University of Canterbury: there is a clinic which will treat UC students. Everyone has to have a checkup before they can get any treatment but a checkup is only $25 and treatment is charged at $50 per half hour.
Dunedin Dental School: treatment for most procedures is about 1/3 of the cost of what you would expect to pay in private. It also takes about 5x as long so you have to have the time to attend appointments as nothing happens quickly! First visit is to the Urgent Care Unit on the first floor. Inform reception downstairs and they give you forms to fill in. There is a triaging system in place so more urgent cases are seen first. If you have a toothache that will get treated and the rest of the mouth assessed to see what waitlist you will get referred to (Year 3/4/5 dental students, or specialising students). If you just want to get onto a waitlist they will do a quick checkup to see where you belong. Waitlists are all different times, some can be up to 2 years but if you have more urgent needs you will be sorted sooner.
Free Dental Days: In the past a dental association has teamed up with volunteer dental practices and corporate sponsors to provide free dental days for low income New Zealand adults on a first come first served basis i.e. numbers are limited. Whether a similar initiative will occur in the future is unknown - so don't hold your breath or your next trip to your dental practice.
The Emergency Department: Toothache is NOT an emergency and people attending ED for toothache clog up the system. All the doctors will do is give you some pain relief. You can ask for them to place a dental infiltration next to the tooth and numb it up for a few hours for better relief but not all doctors will feel comfortable doing this. Bigger hospitals will have an on-call dental house surgeon who is available after hours but they won't treat toothache. They are there for trauma (i.e. if your tooth gets knocked out), swellings, lacerations, fractured bones, dog bites etc.
- Ngati Hine in Kawakawa has a dental clinic. Some time ago they were running a programme in which pregnant woman and women with children under 5 got free dental treatment.
- Tipu Ora in Rotorua has some services as well.
- Ora Tipu which is based in Porirua may also offer dental services.
- Hamilton's Raukura Hauora O Tainui also offer $50 relief of pain appointments to people with a community services card.
- Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust organised with (corporate sponsors) free dental treatment for the Wairoa community for two weeks in January in both 2015 and 2016. Keep an eye out for this initiative again in early 2017
Canterbury Charity Hospital: free treatment but to qualify you must have used your entire $300 WINZ emergency dental grant for that year and be referred by a dentist. There is a comprehensive form that must be filled out. The waitlist is over 6 months long for treatment. You will see a different dentist each appointment as it is staffed by volunteer dentists.
University of Canterbury: there is a clinic which will treat UC students. Everyone has to have a checkup before they can get any treatment but a checkup is only $25 and treatment is charged at $50 per half hour.
Dunedin Dental School: treatment for most procedures is about 1/3 of the cost of what you would expect to pay in private. It also takes about 5x as long so you have to have the time to attend appointments as nothing happens quickly! First visit is to the Urgent Care Unit on the first floor. Inform reception downstairs and they give you forms to fill in. There is a triaging system in place so more urgent cases are seen first. If you have a toothache that will get treated and the rest of the mouth assessed to see what waitlist you will get referred to (Year 3/4/5 dental students, or specialising students). If you just want to get onto a waitlist they will do a quick checkup to see where you belong. Waitlists are all different times, some can be up to 2 years but if you have more urgent needs you will be sorted sooner.
Free Dental Days: In the past a dental association has teamed up with volunteer dental practices and corporate sponsors to provide free dental days for low income New Zealand adults on a first come first served basis i.e. numbers are limited. Whether a similar initiative will occur in the future is unknown - so don't hold your breath or your next trip to your dental practice.
The Emergency Department: Toothache is NOT an emergency and people attending ED for toothache clog up the system. All the doctors will do is give you some pain relief. You can ask for them to place a dental infiltration next to the tooth and numb it up for a few hours for better relief but not all doctors will feel comfortable doing this. Bigger hospitals will have an on-call dental house surgeon who is available after hours but they won't treat toothache. They are there for trauma (i.e. if your tooth gets knocked out), swellings, lacerations, fractured bones, dog bites etc.
