New Zealand is marking 100 years of free dental care for children this year, and while the oral health of most people has undoubtedly improved for many older kiwis the service will always be associated - rightly or wrongly - with the dreaded Murder House aka the school dental clinic.
Photo: 123rf.com
The state-funded School Dental Service started in 1921 to combat the nation's poor oral health following World War One.
The first entirely female draft of dental nurses graduated two years later - skilled in the use of the pedal-powered treadle dental drill which was often used without anaesthetic.
New Plymouth pensioner Mel Harper remembered the drill well.