Te Kaika: A New Māori Dental Service in New Zealand

Objectives: To review a new Māori oral health service utilizing final year dental students’ written reports and reflections of their clinical placement experience.
Methods: Māori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand who do not enjoy the same oral health status as the majority non-Māori population. Consequently many Māori tribal organisations have established their own oral health services. A new health service, Te Kaika (The Village) was established in February 2018 as a partnership between Ngāi Tahu (the Māori tribal entity in the South Island) and the University of Otago. Te Kaika has primary health care services with general practice doctors, community-based social services and a 4-chair dental suite. Final year dental students are rostered to the dental clinic for a 5-week clinical placement. On completion of their placement the students are required to submit a report of their experiences. These reports were the basis for this review.

Results: Four dental students are rostered for a 5-week placement throughout the academic year in 6-placement rotations. Their reports include case histories, the application of the Māori model of health and well being, the application of the Articles and/or Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and their personal reflections of their experiences. The student’s reports outlined their clinical experiences, the cultural experiences, and the increased confidence they had gained in this Māori community-based clinical setting.

Conclusions: A significant benefit for the students was the clinical work undertaken which were experiences that they would never otherwise have had within the confines of a dental school. Their reflections revealed the importance of an affordable community-based dental service for Māori, Pacific and low income families. The relationship between Te Kaika and the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry demonstrated a new model of service provision that benefits all stakeholders.