''I certainly welcome this interest,'' Prof Thomson said after yesterday's call by the NZMA.
Prof Thomson, who heads the oral sciences department at the Otago School of Dentistry, has long highlighted the serious long-term damage to oral health caused by excessively sugary drinks and food, and the big oral health inequities arising from socioeconomic deprivation.
NZMA chairwoman Dr Kate Baddock said yesterday ''dental decay remains the most prevalent chronic, yet irreversible, disease in New Zealand''.
Young people had access to free dental care, but there were ''significant disparities'', and older people were among those struggling to afford care.
She also urged a preventive approach and ''bold action'' on ''high sugar diets'' and sugary drinks.
Prof Thomson said New Zealand had limited health resources and extending ''affordable dental service'' to everyone would be a major challenge.
It would take ''a lot of joined-up thinking'' and many changes ''to turn things around''.
But the recent dramatic reductions in the popularity of smoking showed what could be done.
He took issue with aggressive marketing of sugary drinks to young people and it was ''just ridiculous'' that sugary drinks could be bought in many places much cheaper than milk.
A tax on sugary drinks should also be considered in New Zealand after its success overseas, including in Britain and parts of the United States.
