Outreach teams visiting the Southern Lau islands this week have found dental disease at critical levels, with many young children now requiring extraction of permanent teeth — a development health officials say is largely preventable. Dr Jone Tuwai, Dental Officer at Lakeba Subdivisional Hospital, told parents in Matuku and Totoya that the rise in childhood tooth loss is being driven by high-sugar diets, limited access to routine dental care and poor oral hygiene habits.
Dr Tuwai, speaking during community visits, said the trend is particularly alarming because it affects permanent teeth that should last a lifetime. He warned parents that convenience choices — handing children junk food or sugary drinks to keep them occupied — are having serious, long-term consequences for children’s mouths. “We are seeing too many children lose their adult teeth because of decay that could have been prevented with simple daily care and better food choices,” he said.
The outreach findings mirror national data showing four out of five Fijian children suffer from cavities or other oral diseases. Dental teams emphasise the biological mechanism behind decay: sugars in junk foods and soft drinks are metabolised by bacteria in the mouth, producing acid that attacks tooth enamel and leads to cavities. Left untreated, those cavities can progress to infections and the need for extraction.
Health officials say the problem is not just clinical but social and behavioural. Dr Tuwai urged parents and caregivers to prioritise daily habits such as supervised toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste, limiting sugary snacks and drinks, and seeking early dental checks rather than waiting until pain develops. He said outreach work on outer islands has highlighted gaps in awareness as well as barriers to accessing routine care, making prevention efforts all the more urgent.
The Ministry of Health, which is supporting the island visits, reiterated that protecting children’s dental health requires sustained commitment from families, schools and community leaders. Teams will continue island visits to provide dental education, screenings and wherever possible basic treatment, while referring complex cases to regional centres. The Ministry framed the campaign as part of broader efforts to reduce diet-related illnesses and improve child health outcomes across remote communities.
This latest round of outreach is significant because it shows severe oral disease has not been confined to urban areas or isolated incidents; it is prevalent in outer islands where preventive services and public health messaging can be harder to maintain. Health workers say the immediate priority is to halt current damage — preventing further loss of permanent teeth — and to strengthen long-term prevention through better diets, improved hygiene, and regular check-ups.
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