School dental nurse origin

Interest to improve dental conditions among children in New Zealand became evident in 1905. Treatment of children was particularly difficult on account of the distance which often separated small communities. The Dental Nurse Scheme was established in Wellington, New Zealand in 1921 due to extensive dental diseases found in army recruits during World War 1914–1918. The man who influenced its formation was TA. Hunter, a pioneer in the establishment of a dental school in New Zealand. The name of the school was ‘the dominion training school for dental nurses’. The training was for a period of two years to cover both reversible and irreversible procedures. Upon completion of training, each school dental nurse is assigned to a school where she is employed by the government to provide regular dental care of between 450 and 700 children.