For the first time in years, Mark* is pain-free and smiling again after receiving dental treatment at the Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai. One of the first patients to use our new dental service, Mark shares the difference it has made to his well-being, confidence and everyday life.
“I’d never actually been to a dentist apart from at the hospital when it was an absolute emergency. It had been more than a decade since I last saw any dentist.”
Before coming to the Mission seven years ago and finding housing, Mark had spent years living on the streets, while navigating ongoing mental health challenges. Like most people experiencing homelessness, he had limited access to dental care – or even basic medical care, and he was living with constant pain.
“I had been in a lot of pain for a long time. I had a lot of holes in my teeth, abscesses and sore gums. It started off in one corner of my mouth and I wasn’t able to eat there, but then it spread to all four corners.”
“I couldn't even brush my teeth in certain areas because of how much pain I was in, and that was making it worse.”
The impact went beyond physical discomfort.
“Having problems with my teeth actually caused stress for me. It’s hard enough when you have mental health issues and you’re already struggling to sleep. But when you’re in pain as well, it just compounds everything.”
Mark had tried to get help before but repeatedly ran into barriers.
“There are a lot of barriers to getting dental treatment when you're in the situations I've been in. It’s very difficult.”
Cost is one of the biggest. While a $1,000 non-repayable grant through WINZ can cover urgent dental care, it often falls short of covering all the care that’s needed.
“[Applying for the grant] is very stressful and difficult – you have to get quotes, and they make you jump through hoops. And you have to pay the rest back. I already had some MSD debt, and I can’t spend the rest of my life paying debt."
“Another reason I had struggled to go to a dentist, even when I was in pain, was because my past experiences had not been good – the dental work had been very painful.”
On top of that, Mark’s mental health challenges can make it difficult to be in unfamiliar, busy environments like medical waiting rooms.
With all the barriers, “it was only ever in absolute emergencies that I’d been able to get any treatment.”
When Mark heard that our Calder Health Centre (where he was already a patient) would begin offering dental treatments, he felt “a glimmer of hope that maybe I would be able to get help.”
At first he assumed the usual barriers would still apply.
“I was still stressed, because I thought I'd have to go through the rigamarole of applying for the grant. So I was shocked when one of the doctors said “No, they’ll take care of all that for you.””
Our team at Calder manages the MSD Immediate and Essential Dental Care grant on behalf of patients. With volunteer dentists generously giving their time, any additional costs are covered by the Mission – removing both financial pressure and administrative barriers for patients.
“They did an x-ray and looked at what needed to be done. I thought they'd just do the worst of it, but they actually did everything over four appointments.”
“They fixed up all four corners, plus a couple of other little bits here and there.”
The result has been life-changing.
“They did everything and I'm no longer in pain. I'm able to brush my teeth properly now. All those problems are gone. They literally cleaned everything up so I'm not suffering anymore.”
“The whole process was great. They changed my opinion of going to a dentist - the way they really cared for me and looked after me. I feel I can trust in them. It was nothing like my past experiences.”
Beyond the physical relief, Mark also noticed an unexpected lift in his confidence.
“People had always commented that I never smiled, I hardly opened my mouth when I talked. I was embarrassed because I had this big line going across one of my teeth that was really noticeable.”
“So the dentist filed down the line and put something over it so that it’s not so noticeable. It was a nice little touch at the end.”
“It’s given me a boost – a little bit of extra self-confidence and self-esteem, because when I look in the mirror and brush my teeth, it looks better.”
“I can't speak highly enough about the way I was cared for at Calder. The dental treatment I got has impacted my overall health in a really good way.”
*name changed to protect identity.