Mobile Health Group’s latest Local Legend Award recipient, paediatric dental surgeon Yaso Ramadas has spent the past 20 years travelling to communities across Aotearoa to deliver essential dental care to children through Mobile Surgical. Over the years, she has cared for 1,319 children, including many Māori and rural whānau who can face additional barriers accessing specialist care. Through the mobile service, those children have been able to receive treatment closer to home, helping reduce inequities in access and supporting better health outcomes.
“As a Paediatric specialist, it is important to me that all children receive appropriate dental care, no matter where they live. I want all children to have the best oral health possible. I feel proud to be part of a team that makes sure this care is available to children in New Zealand, and that children in rural communities have access to the best care close to home.”
When asked ‘What do you wish more people understood about the importance of oral health?’ She says “I wish everyone knew that baby teeth are important, we do need to look after them, and that so many children are affected by dental caries. General anaesthesia for dental treatment is the number one reason a child is admitted to a hospital in New Zealand! There is a lot of work to required in New Zealand to educate our communities and help reduce the number of children who suffer from this preventable disease. While I am proud of the work my teams do in the hospitals, I wish the preventive education was there so that fewer of these kids end up in hospital needing so many teeth extracted!”
Over the years, she has witnessed first-hand the difference local healthcare can make. One experience that stayed with her involved a mother who had spent two hours in traffic to access treatment for her eldest daughter at a central city hospital. “She had been so stressed about making it in time with a fasted and anxious child, hoping she had enough petrol in the tank to make it. Her next daughter had her surgery ten minutes down the road; the whole family was so much more relaxed and calmer for the surgery. It really emphasised the difference local and accessible care can make for families,” she says.
Yaso’s journey with Mobile Surgical began through her mentor, Dr Callum Durward, who introduced her to the organisation while she was covering some of his clinical work. When he later moved overseas, Yaso continued his Mobile Surgical sessions and quickly saw the impact the service was having on communities across New Zealand. For Yaso, the role was an opportunity to combine her passion for paediatric dentistry with a service that was making a tangible difference.
“Dr Durward was so passionate about helping children who may not have the easiest access to dental care,” she recalls. “He really showed me how rewarding it was to work in remote areas. When I first started, even Pukekohe hospital was rural – we were operating next to paddocks of baby lambs!”
Reflecting on the 1,319 children she has treated, Yaso says the number is humbling. “It means so much to me that people can get care closer to home. Growing up in Whakatane, our local tertiary hospital was Waikato, 200kms away. When a family member needed specialist treatment, I remember it being stressful. For many months my other family members were working and commuting long distances on their days off. It placed extra pressure and stress on our family who were already going through an incredibly difficult time. It makes me so happy that I can help families receive care closer to home and help reduce some of the pressure and stress of accessing hospital care.”
Yaso is quick to acknowledge the wider team behind each rural visit. “Everyone on the bus has a positive attitude and it’s they’re a great bunch of people to work with. When I first started, we operated out of the Snell’s Beach fire station, where the fire chief’s wife always brought us a delicious morning tea!”
“I always enjoy catching up with the steerologists, who have been there the whole 20 years with me. Similar to Paw Patrol, no job is too big or too small, the MSS bus is on a roll!”
Helping others was a value instilled in Yaso from an early age. Both of her parents were doctors, and their dedication to patients inspired her own career in healthcare. “I knew I wanted to do something that included helping people, so the healthcare industry seemed like the right path.
I had so much respect for the nights and weekends that my parents worked, I just felt that dentistry might be a better lifestyle fit for me.”
Twenty years on working with Mobile Surgical, Yaso still finds joy in helping children receive the care they need. “I love my job working with children – no two days are ever the same!” For the hundreds of tamariki she has treated and the countless whānau whose healthcare journeys have been made easier, her contribution reflects the power of accessible, community-based healthcare to reduce barriers to care.
Main photo: Yaso Ramadas with a young patient and his mother.
Image right: Yaso Ramadas
Images courtesy of Kidz Teeth.