A majority of MPs on Tuesday evening voted to allow the experiment allowing dentists to decide their own fees to continue, but said they would monitor developments closely.

There have been a number of reports of sharp increases in fees since the beginning of the year, when dentists were given the green light to determine how to much to charge for treatment.
However, the dentists’ organisation has denied prices have gone up and an initial report by the national healthcare authority NZa says fees are still in line with 2011.
Children
In particular, MPs are concerned that parents are being asked to pay top-up fees for dental treatment for their children. Basic treatment for the under-18s is free.
Health minister Edith Schippers said during the debate she expects insurers and dentists will have solved this problem by next week.
A second NZa report is due shortly. This speed is a sign that things are going wrong, Socialist Party MPs said. The SP, Labour and GroenLinks want the experiment to stop now.