When Bryce Rangitaawa told his whānau he was suffering from a toothache, they couldn't imagine he would die just weeks later.
In December 2020, Rangitaawa sought help for a sore tooth and abscess, but less than a month later, he died from a suspected heart attack.
Eighteen months on, his mum Maria Brown still struggles to make sense of the tragic events which unfolded.
Christmas of 2020 had been a happy time for his whānau, but it's when Rangitaawa started complaining of a sore tooth.
Brown said Rangitaawa had never had problems with his teeth in the past and didn't have a regular dentist.
Struggling to find an open dentist clinic, Brown and Rangitaawa went to their local doctors for help.
After three visits, Rangitaawa was referred to Auckland Hospital.
"It got to the point where he couldn't even swallow," Brown said.
"I feel that concern was really when we went to Auckland Hospital, it just got from bad to worse."
At Auckland Hospital, X-rays were taken and it was determined he had a right dental abscess and needed to have one tooth taken out.
Rangitaawa was then told to immediately book an appointment with a dentist to have this work carried out.
He was sent home from the hospital with pain relief and mouthwash.
Karen Turanga has worked as a dental hygienist for the last 30 years. She said emergency departments are often not equipped to deal with whānau who have tooth pain.
"You'll get some antibiotics to deal with the infections and pain relief to get you through until the antibiotics start to work," she said.
"But often it doesn't resolve the long-term issues and so people will end up back at A&E again."
After visiting Auckland Hospital, Brown needed to find the $480 needed to have Rangitaawa's work carried out.
Both Brown and Rangitaawa were beneficiaries and this cost was a major barrier - Rangitaawa had to go to Work and Income for a dental grant.
Rangitaawa secured the $480 dental grant and Brown was happy he was finally having his dental procedure.
"I think, psychologically, you think, great, it's out and I'm going to get better. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."
Just a week later, Rangitaawa's condition deteriorated, and he was referred to Middlemore Hospital for acute surgery.
Over the next few days, doctors raised real concerns about Rangitaawa's other health conditions, including diabetes, which he wasn't taking medication for. His elevated blood pressure and blood sugars were of major concern.
But Brown said Rangitaawa was active and up and about whenever she saw him at the hospital.
"I went up every day, bar one day. He was never lying in bed like how you expect to see sick people."
Turanga said having painful and rotten teeth can lead to a number of health issues.
"It doesn't just affect what's going on in your mouth," Turanga said.
"It has associations with systemic diseases like coronary heart disease, diabetes, low birth weight babies."
But just six days after going to hospital, and less than a month after first complaining of a sore tooth, Brown said Rangitaawa was found collapsed on his bed at hospital and had died from a suspected heart attack.
"I couldn't believe it. It was just so heartbreaking. Such a shock. That's all I know. It was horrible."
After Rangitaawa's death, Brown filed a complaint with the Health and Disability Commissioner. In April this year, Brown received the Health and Disability Commissioner's findings into her complaint.
In short, the report found clinicians could not have done anything more to prevent Rangitaawa's death.
His death is still before the Coroner.
The debate around oral health care continues to be a burning issue in Aotearoa.
Turanga said adult dentistry needs to be more integrated into our primary health care system.
"If it goes on the way it's going, we're just getting a bigger and bigger avalanche of need."
Made with support from Te Māngai Pāho and the Public Interest Journalism Fund.
