1700 Auckland kids face painful wait for tooth surgery as Covid-19 aggravates dental backlogs
5 Mar, 2021 04:00 PM
7 minutes to read
Nicholas Jones is an investigative reporter at the New Zealand Herald nicholas.jones@nzherald.co.nz@nickjonesnzer More than 1700 Auckland children are stuck in a backlog for tooth extraction surgery, forcing them to live in pain and risking their wellbeing and education, after Covid-19 put more strain on an already overburdened health service, the Weekend Herald has learned.
An internal report by the Auckland and Northland district health boards, prepared late last year, said the waiting list amounted to a classroom of children, aged mainly 3-6 years old, needing a surgical extraction under anaesthetic, every week for a year .
The proclamation states: "A dentist and his or her dental staff may resume providing any dental services if the dentist complies" with the requirements.
BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) Most dentists in New York were able to fully reopen their practices last June, but those who work in school-based health centers are still waiting on state clearance to do the same.
Bassett Healthcare Network’s school-based health centers aim to make care more accessible for rural families by placing physicians’ and dentists’ offices directly in school buildings. Costs to families for services in these offices are covered by insurance providers and New York State.
Those services couldn’t be reached when schools closed last spring, leaving gaps in many rural areas without nearby clinicians.
Doctors and mental health workers have since returned to schools with a combination of in-person and online visits, but New York State Department of Health guidance still in place from April prevents dentists from getting students back in the chair.
Ditching the dentist may impact severity of COVID infection
As more people choose to avoid dental appointments it could come at a price to overall health
Ditching the dentist may impact severity of COVID infection By Sam Bauman | March 2, 2021 at 1:06 PM EST - Updated March 2 at 5:28 PM
RINCON, Ga. (WTOC) - It may come as no surprise but many people have been putting off going to the dentist during the pandemic.
But delaying that trip is not only bad for your oral health but could even make COVID-19 that much more dangerous.
âThere is definitely a link between oral hygiene and systemic health,â said Dr. Misty Seale of iHeart Dental in Rincon.