Kia Orana to our podcast listeners,
Personally, I, Chantal, am the daughter of a school dental nurse so I grew up having my “sneaky” lollies flushed down the toilet by my mother Teremoana. Oral hygiene and care of teeth have been ingrained and always important to me. I reached out to two local dental surgeons and wanted to share 50 years of oral hygiene in the Cook Islands with you all.
Local dentist Danny Areai spent three years studying in Otago, armed with a Master’s degree in clinical dentistry and a post grad diploma in Community Dentistry.
He received his bachelor’s in dental science through the Fiji School of Medicine and worked for 7 years as a ‘flying dentist’ he and a colleague would travel to the outer islands by plane and by ship to administer dental services.
Danny is now one of SIX dentists at the Tupapa clinic, and the only one with a Master’s degree. Areai hopes to share his newfound knowledge with his colleagues – who he applauded for holding down the fort while he was away further training.
While it’s been difficult to re-adjust into life as a dentist in the Cook Islands, where resources are limited, Danny and his team feel better prepared to administer dental services to our people in the Cook Islands.
Dr. George Hosking is one of our leading pioneers in dentistry in the Cook Islands. Google internet is full of stories of George Hosking and his life long career as a dental surgeon in the Cook Islands. Spanning back to the 1960’s which is more than 50 years. I read a story where George was described as pure coconut Dentistry style, gentle touch right before the command to “Open-Rinse-Open”. My mother Teremoana O’Ngatokotoru Napa has sung praises over the years of George Hosking and at 72 years old my mother doesn’t trust too many people ‘working’ in her mouth, she trusts George.
Listen out for:
- The days of the foot pump treadle tooth drilling machine.
- Being flown to our sisters islands spread over 2 million square kilometers, kinda like the ‘flying doctors’ but the ‘flying dentist’.
- George’s advice to all “look after your teeth otherwise your teeth will become false”
Bonus 🎉
To our young people of the Cook Islands, if you’re looking for government subsidized scholarships, Dentistry is the way to go. Because according to our two dental surgeons, you’ve got a high chance of being successful.
I learnt in this podcast episode that the Cook Islands statistically according to the World Health Organization (WHO), our young children up until the age of 12 have the best teeth in the Pacific. I am so proud of this!
If you have more questions, you can contact Dental Services in the Cook Islands here 👉 +682 29 312
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In April 2020, Kia Orana Podcast was created as a result of lock down Covid restrictions. Self funded by the 2 co-hosts, we are thoroughly enjoying producing this show for you. Our website www.kiaoranapodcast.com and podcast channel is presented to you by Haydn and Chantal, who wear the hats of journalist, researcher, copy writer, administration and ICT expert? We cover rich local content, and we want to keep it that way. Support us today to help secure a sustainable future for locally owned and operated broadcasting media with C
Kia Orana, May you live long
Aere Ra, Farewell
Kia Manuia, Good Luck and Good Health
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The Kia Orana Podcast was created as a result of lock down Covid restrictions, in 2020.
