There has been little response to the Otago District Health Board's latest plans for the school dental service.
Project manager for the redevelopment of the service Graham Bugler said what response there had been was mixed.
Some schools which would no longer have clinics on site had said they were pleased to be able to use the space, while others which would retain a clinic looked forward to that.
Some were still concerned however, at the amount of time some children might have to spend out of school travelling to a clinic.
Mr Bugler said 52% of pupils already travelled beyond their school for treatment. Under the new arrangements, the board estimates 95% of primary pupils in Otago will live within 30 minutes' travel of a clinic or mobile site.
If the board had done nothing, that number would have increased as school dental clinics became unable to meet health and safety standards.
Mr Bugler will attend a meeting of the Otago Primary Principals Association executive soon to discuss outstanding issues with them.
Under the new plan, the existing 60 or so clinics will be replaced by seven fixed clinics and four double-chair mobile clinics serving 17 sites.
The project is expected to cost almost $5 million and will be introduced over the next three years.
While it has been decided which towns and areas will have fixed clinics and mobile sites, precise sites have not yet been chosen in all cases.
Mr Bugler expected this process to be completed by November.
Sites must be on Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health or district health board land.
One of the clinics will be within the University of Otago's School of Dentistry, extending the number of children the school already caters for from about 1000 to 4800.
School deputy dean Prof Tom Cardias said the proposed development of a simulation centre would take the pressure off the existing clinical space, allowing the school to cater for the larger numbers.
While some issues were still to be resolved, the school was looking forward to its increased involvement with the service.
