Nearly half of New Zealanders have not seen a dentist in the past year, and one-fifth of those who did faced waits of four weeks or more, NZDA President Dr. David Excell said during National Oral Health Day in November. “That’s unacceptable for a country that values health equity,” he stated.
The New Zealand Dental Association’s (NZDA) new Roadmap Towards Better Oral Health identifies workforce shortages and regional disparities as major barriers to improving access. While the total number of dentists has grown over the past decade, population growth has outpaced this increase, leaving the dentist-to-population ratio lower than before—particularly in rural areas. Some regions have only a third of the dentists per capita compared with major cities.
Dentists in underserved areas report heavy workloads, long hours, and difficulties recruiting and retaining staff, contributing to stress and burnout. Between 2012 and 2024, New Zealand’s population aged 15 and over rose from 3.5 million to 4.4 million, while practising dentists increased from 2,127 to 2,724. This resulted in a nearly 5% drop in the dentist-to-population ratio, with dentists working around 19% more hours weekly on average.
By 2024, six out of seven health regions had 45 or fewer full-time equivalent dentists per 100,000 adults—a level associated with access challenges in other countries. A 2022 NZDA survey found that roughly 60% of rural dentists and 40% of urban dentists considered their workloads excessive, with rural practitioners reporting higher rates of poor mental health.
Dr. Excell stressed that immediate action is needed to boost dental student intake. Increasing annual graduates from 60 to 90 would help ensure a sustainable workforce capable of serving all communities, particularly those outside main urban centers.
“The solution is simple: more dentists, better distributed,” Dr. Excell said. The NZDA frames this expansion as an essential investment to prevent further deterioration in oral health outcomes and to protect equitable access to care. Without additional graduates, the association warns, the current system risks overwhelming both patients and practitioners.
