The following article was written by Samantha Gee and published in the Nelson Mail on 2 April 2018.

Despite dental care being free for under 18s, more than a thousand adolescents in Nelson aren't regularly visiting the dentist.

To combat that, the Wicked Tooth Fairy is a new service that will connect youth with dentists in the region by transporting them to and from their appointments.

Project lead Ruth Rogers said she believed the project was the first of its kind in the country.

"We want to help overcome the barriers that stop young people getting to the dentist and getting their teeth sorted."

The service is an initiative of Whanake Youth, a trust established last April to empower youth to take charge of their health.

Under the current system, children up to the age of year 8 visit the community oral health service. After that, routine dental care remained free, but parents were notified in a letter that their child needed to be enrolled with the family dentist.

Rogers said the Wicked Tooth Fairy service would liaise with dentists and education providers, then transport the 13 to 17-year-olds to their appointments, providing support and advocacy along the way.

She said if there were barriers preventing youth from going the dentist while it was free, it was unlikely they would proactively seek out oral health care once there was a cost associated with it.

In Nelson, three schools had already signed up to the project, Nelson College, Garin College and and Nayland College. The initiative was introduced to students in a school assembly and information was sent home to their parents.

"The idea is that we work with the school and take them to the dentist, it isn't just about transport it is giving them some support on the way."

It was hoped the first students would make the trip in a Wicked Tooth Fairy van in early May.

"For those that were anxious or worried about going to the dentist, it will be a positive experience and they will be more inclined to go again."

Rogers said it was important to encourage the students to take responsibility for their own health.

Whanake Youth co-director Lee-ann O'Brien said in 2016, a youth survey revealed that access to oral healthcare was a major concern for young people. It was the catalyst for establishing the Wicked Tooth Fairy.

Based on a survey done in the region, she estimated there were 1500 young people in the region who were not having annual dental checks.

"Anything we can do to support reducing that number, the better.
"We think it's an easy solution."

O'Brien said donations from the Anglican Care Charitable Trust and Rotary Nelson had made the initiative possible and the Nelson Dental Association were "awesomely excited" about it.

Whanake Youth are keen to hear from anyone interested in being a volunteer driver for the Wicked Tooth Fairy service.

Any schools, community organisations, parents or youth that needed help to make an appointment or needed transport to see the dentist, could contact Wicked Tooth Fairy through the Whanake Youth website.

- Stuff