Māori Oral Health
Good oral health for Māori, for life. Te Ao Mārama works to close the oral health equity gap for te iwi Māori — grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Te iwi Māori have been disadvantaged by the oral health system, leading to unjust, unfair, and avoidable inequities. Te Ao Mārama exists to change that — advocating for Māori oral health equity, building the Māori oral health workforce, and supporting kaupapa Māori models of care.
The impact of oral disease has a profound effect on the hauora of Māori whānau across the life course. Poor oral health is not an accident of circumstance — it reflects a system that has not delivered equitable outcomes for Māori. As the national Māori dental association, Te Ao Mārama brings together students and professionals across the oral health sector to assert that good oral health is a right, not a privilege.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi & equity
Oral health is a Tiriti issue
The place and role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in health and health care provision is well established. Māori have unique rights as Treaty partners, and as tangata whenua of Aotearoa, to enjoy good oral health.
The WAI 2575 Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry identified consistent failures of the Crown in its commitment to achieve equity of health outcomes for Māori. Provisions to ensure Māori have adequate decision-making, influence, investment, and appropriate accountability mechanisms to deliver quality health care to Māori communities have not been met.
Te Ao Mārama is an assertion of Article II — Tino Rangatiratanga — of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We work to ensure the health system partners with kaupapa Māori oral health providers and Māori communities to understand Māori oral health needs across Aotearoa: strengthening kaupapa Māori services, building the Māori oral health workforce and provider network, and fostering innovation in models that deliver better outcomes for Māori.
As a united oral health system, we can collectively hold ourselves accountable for equity improvements for Māori.
Ka pū te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi
When the old net is cast aside, the new net goes fishing.
Position statements
Te Ao Mārama contributes to the evidence base on Māori oral health. Our publications and position statements are available below.
2021 Working towards Māori oral health equity
Why Te Tiriti o Waitangi needs to underpin the oral health system — NZ Dental Journal
2021 Mokopuna Māori me oranga niho
An early childhood caries randomised control trial among NZ Māori children — NZ Dental Journal
Advocacy
Community Water Fluoridation
Te Ao Mārama supports community water fluoridation as a safe, effective, equitable measure to reduce tooth decay across Aotearoa — particularly for whānau with the least access to care.
Policy
NZ Oral Healthcare Funding
Dental care in Aotearoa is either publicly or privately funded. Understanding how the system works — and where it fails Māori — is the first step toward changing it.
Join the kaupapa
Te Ao Mārama welcomes members from every part of the oral health and wider health sectors who are committed to improving oral health outcomes for Māori.