Ngo observed that Gisborne Hospital had “marked inequities” compared with other hospitals around the country.
“Unlike Waikato and Christchurch, where just above a third of presentations received orthopantomograms [OPG], Gisborne Hospital does not even have an OPG machine required for basic dental diagnoses,” Ngo wrote.
Gisborne Hospital is one of six across the country without an on-site dental centre.
The report says the city has five private dental clinics, but the nearest hospital clinic is at Waikato Hospital – a six-hour drive away.
“Definitive care was not available to those admitted to Gisborne Hospital because of the lack of a hospital dental department,” Ngo wrote.
“In contrast, all admitted patients with similar presentations in Christchurch and Waikato received definitive treatment under general anaesthesia, such as extraction or incision and drainage.”
In some cases, wait times for patients would be lengthened due to Gisborne Hospital staff needing to consult with Waikato Hospital for advice.
The majority of presentations didn’t require hospital admission and serious cases were transferred to Waikato Hospital.
These presentations were “time-consuming, costly and suboptimally managed in EDs [emergency departments] because of lack of dental specific facilities and expertise”, Ngo wrote.
Over the last few years, local healthcare providers have taken the demand for dental care into their own hands.
In 2025, Turanga Health more than tripled the reach of its free mobile dental clinic initiative from 2024.
Last year, 605 treatments were given to 178 patients across 10 days – a 346% increase on the previous year’s reach.
In a statement, Nicola Barrington, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s group director of operations for Tairāwhiti, said there was “no quick or easy solution” to issues in oral healthcare in rural communities.
“Health NZ expects all hospitals to provide specialist hospital dental services as capacity allows,” Barrington said.
“In Tairāwhiti, emergency dental treatment is available, providing care that is immediately necessary for the relief of pain and treatment of infection for low-income adults.
“Services are delivered either from public hospitals or private dental facilities. Tairāwhiti’s hospital dental service continues to respond to the needs of community with a focus on strengthening equity of access for all within the district.”
A review is underway into oral health service delivery for 0-17-year-olds, “with a focus on vulnerable communities”.
But Ngo said support should be targeted at “younger, working-aged adults and those who lived in areas of higher social deprivation to navigate barriers to dental care access”.
Ngo called for a national policy for a regional hospital dental department – specifically, dental-specific diagnostic equipment, a purpose-built clinic and junior and senior dental officers.
“Findings from this study highlight the need for oral health services that are responsive to a young, predominantly Māori population, and to communities facing high socio-economic deprivation,” she wrote.
“Policymakers need to re-evaluate regional-hospital dental care service frameworks and identify areas of funding to target inequity in meeting hospital dental service specifications.”