Ora Toa Dental Service will benefit Porirua Community

“The Porirua community will now benefit from another Maori success with the official opening of the Ora Toa Dental Service” said Associate Health Minister Mita Ririnui regarding the Ora Toa Dental Centre in Cannons Creek today.

Minister Ririnui was unable to attend the official opening but acting on his behalf to launch the dental service was the Ministry of Health’s Deputy Director General Maori Health Teresa Wall.

“The Ora Toa Dental Centre has come about from the collaboration of hard work from Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira and a pilot programme from the Maori Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health” said Minister Ririnui.

After a series of reviews conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2004 on the status of oral health in children and adolescents it became apparent that there were significant inequalities in the oral health of Maori children and adolescents compared to that of non-Maori.

After the reviews, the Maori Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health took action and invited Maori health providers to develop business cases for existing and/or oral health services.

Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira was one of five Maori Health providers who were successful in the presentation of their business cases and the Ministry of Health provided funding to enable them to establish the Ora Toa Dental Service.

“Te Runanga O Toa Rangatira has shown true vision, support and commitment over the last two years in striving to provide community services for better oral health for their tamariki and rangatahi. Today their goal has been realised and it will be for the betterment of the entire Porirua community.”

The Ora Toa Dental Service is community and whanau based oral health service that has been in operation since April 2008. It is based at the Cannons Creek Medical Centre and is presently contracted to provide oral health services for adolescents, specialist dental services for children and adolescents and emergency dental services for low income adults.