Improving oral health is one of the 13 health priorities specified in the New Zealand Health Strategy, and one of the 12 priorities for Maori health (Ministry of Health, 2000). Inequalities in oral health continue to persist in New Zealand and inequity in access to oral health services is strongly evident. The disparity exists between ethnicity and rurality still remain as a challenge today with Maori, Pacific, rural and low socioeconomic populations all continue to show poorer oral health status in comparison to other groups (Ministry of Health,2010) . This is why the Good Oral Health for All, for Life (2005) provides an excellent guideline that can assist Tairawhiti District Health Board (DHB) in reducing inequalities, with Maori, high deprivation
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Tairawhiti DHB 's population tends to be much younger, therefore the DHB has put into actions that actively addresses the needs of this population to reduce their risk of suffering from oral diseases. There is a common concept that reduction in inequalities in children can positively influence their oral health status in later life. Hence, an oral health educator was employed in Tairawhiti DHB with one of her main task was to target the lack of attendance in preschoolers. This is achieved through health promotion at preschools, kohanga etc. and a close relationship with Plunket. The parents/caregivers of the preschoolers are informed on the nearest mobile dental clinic and the dental therapist and assistant also have a good contact with the school and the community to 'track down ' those that slipped through the system. The latest data shows an increase from 57% to 89% over the last two and half years due to the "Enrol from Birth" campaign targeted at increasing enrolment and utilisation with the overall focus on early engagement with whanau (refer to appendix 1). Tairawhiti DHB uses the results based accountability framework to measure the outputs and outcomes of programmes and policies. Again, a short questionnaire or a phone-call can evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. It will include questions such as, was the content easy to understand, how do they became aware of the service (gives an indication of which advertising method is the most successful). Appendix two highlights the success of the
Tairawhiti DHB 's population tends to be much younger, therefore the DHB has put into actions that actively addresses the needs of this population to reduce their risk of suffering from oral diseases. There is a common concept that reduction in inequalities in children can positively influence their oral health status in later life. Hence, an oral health educator was employed in Tairawhiti DHB with one of her main task was to target the lack of attendance in preschoolers. This is achieved through health promotion at preschools, kohanga etc. and a close relationship with Plunket. The parents/caregivers of the preschoolers are informed on the nearest mobile dental clinic and the dental therapist and assistant also have a good contact with the school and the community to 'track down ' those that slipped through the system. The latest data shows an increase from 57% to 89% over the last two and half years due to the "Enrol from Birth" campaign targeted at increasing enrolment and utilisation with the overall focus on early engagement with whanau (refer to appendix 1). Tairawhiti DHB uses the results based accountability framework to measure the outputs and outcomes of programmes and policies. Again, a short questionnaire or a phone-call can evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. It will include questions such as, was the content easy to understand, how do they became aware of the service (gives an indication of which advertising method is the most successful). Appendix two highlights the success of the