An Auckland dentist is offering free training to keen mums and dads who want to become oral health advocates in their communities. DentalCare West's Dr Scott Waghorn says the number of tooth extractions for children is on the rise and educating parents as kaitiaki could help reduce those statistics.
Mother of three Summer Wharekawa welcomes news that a Māori dentist is offering free dental education to parents.
Wharekawa says "if I need advice about the kids I don't ring the professionals I ring my friends, especially the ones that have got kids that are slightly older, to ask 'how did you handle this?' So if you have that kind of community of people that you can call upon who really know what to do in these situations I think it would be great."
Dr Scott Waghorn is seeking parents for his Kaitiaki Smilecare Plan. They will be trained to help others in their community, and will have direct access to resources and Dr Waghorn's team of Māori dentists through an app.
Dr Waghorn says "what we've recognised is a lot of people in the community are really interested in teeth, so what we're trying to do is train them so that when people have pain they can see people who aren't dentists but have a good knowledge of dentistry."
He hopes the initiative helps decrease the number of dental visits that result in tooth extractions for children. He wants to build relationships within the community and reduce whanau fear around dental visits.
"I understand the options and the pros and cons and I want to communicate that to as many people as possible,” Dr Waghorn says.
“If people feel they are empowered and know about it then they're more likely to initiate the right steps and get involved in prevention."
Dr Waghorn is taking registrations now for the first intake mid-March. For those interested, they can get in touch with Dr Waghorn at scott@smilecare.co.nz
