A state-of-the-art mobile dental unit rolled into Gate Pa School this week.

The new dental unit is the seventh mobile unit to be commissioned by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board Community Dental Service.

Dental therapist Karen McDonald, dental assistant Keryn Price and Gate Pa principal Richard Inder enjoy the new mobile dental unit with Gate Pa pupils Qiana Turei, 7, Pereki Turei, 7, Nepia Kohere, 7, Morehu Folau, 6, Kaitara Coker, 7, and Ahumarangi Raharuhi, 6. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

It completes a fleet of 13 mobile dental units and seven fixed site facilities providing dental services to schools in the Western and Eastern Bay regions.

The mobile unit visited Gate Pa School this week where it was blessed by Kaumatua Tai August, accompanied by children from the Matariki class.

Gate Pa School principal Richard Inder says the new facility is a modern and more convenient way of delivering dental health services to the community.

'There was a dental clinic before, which had older dental facilities.”
He says children need to learn their dental habits early on to protect their teeth and gums later in life.

Dental therapist Karen McDonald says the new facility is 'absolutely fabulous”.

'We love it. It's convenient, modern and you feel very professional working here.

The new clinic will service Oropi Primary School, Gate Pa Primary School and Welcome Bay Primary School.

'The children will get two lots of treatments per year - if they need it.

'It's really doing well for the children who are high risk and there are a lot of high risk children at this school.”

The unit undertakes 70,000 visits per year across the Bay of Plenty to around 36,000 children and adolescents under 18-years-old.

The service aims to improve the pre-school enrolment rates in 2012/13 from 65 per cent to 70 per cent in 2013/14 for children aged 0-4-years-old.