Community dental service — Canterbury

The community dental service provides free dental care for eligible children living in Canterbury and South Canterbury. We also help teens find a free family dentist.


Contact us

To enrol your child, book an appointment, or update contact details:

Appointments are available Monday to Friday, 8:15am to 4:30pm, during the school term (open hours may vary for each clinic).

If you have more than one child needing to see us, you may be able to book a family appointment to have them seen at the same time.


Where to find us

We have 14 community dental clinics throughout Canterbury, where we:

  • check and treat preschoolers' teeth, from age 2
  • treat school-aged children's teeth.

Our dental vans visit primary and intermediate schools to check children's teeth.

Community clinic locations


Services we provide

Dental care for tamariki and rangatahi

Dental care for tamariki and rangatahi is publicly funded.

Interpreter services are available for people who are deaf or do not speak English as their first language.

If you need help getting to appointments, let us know as we may be able to put you in touch with a support service.

Relief of Pain appointments

If your child is in pain, contact us to book a Relief of Pain appointment. If we cannot offer your child a Relief of Pain appointment, we will help you get an appointment at a family dentist for free.

Resources

Menemene mai early childhood oral health toolkit (external link)