Dental professor says dental care should be free or subsidised

There are calls for dental care to be either heavily subsidised or free - as the amount of debt beneficiaries are racking up to pay for dental work comes to light. Figures from the Ministry for Social Development show in the 2017- 2018 financial year, more than 26 million dollars worth of grants and advances was given to low-income workers and beneficiaries for dental work. More than half of that has to be paid back - but beneficiary advocates say that's not realistic for many people who are already struggling to make ends meet. Jonathan Broadbent is an Associate Professor in Dental Public Health at the University of Otago and has special interest in inequalities in dental health. He joins me now....