Free Dental Care For Territorials

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32381, 21 August 1970, Page 26

Free Dental Care For Territorials

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 20.

Members of the Territorial Force will be given the opportunity to have some dental treatment, mainly fillings, free of cost under a proposal announced today by the Minister of Defence (Mr Thomson).

“The new scheme is voluntary, but I hope that all Territorial Force soldiers will avail themselves of this service,” Mr Thomson said. “The scheme, which is being launched with the knowledge of the Health Department and the New Zealand Dental Association, is designed to improve the state of dental fitness of these members of the Army field force. Should, we ever have to mobilise this force for war, serious delays to its overseas deployment could occur if any significant proportion of the force was found to be dentally unfit.” In general terms, the soldier would be made and kept dentally fit by annual visits to either his own dentist or to a dental surgeon appointed by the Army. Fees payable by the Government to private practitioners would be in line

with the social security benefit scale. The director of defence dental services recently approached every practising dentist in New Zealand asking whether they would take part in the scheme. “The response has been such that the success of the scheme is now ensured,” Mr Thomson said.

“It is evident that the dental profession in New Zealand is readily aware of the problems we face in this field, and it is gratifying to see that they will lend their willing support to help the Army, in particular, to achieve an even greater degree of proficiency and readiness than it has at present.”