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Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Startup hopes to improve oral care
Her lightbulb moment came literally at an electrifying event. Invercargill-based oral health therapist Georgina Welsh was attending Electrify Aotearoa in Christchurch, an event for women founders, startup leaders, supporters and investors to fuel the growth of women-led high-growth ventures in New Zealand. While there, she was struck with an idea to create something like MoleMap, the comprehensive skin and mole check service, but for teeth, and she was spurred into action to establish Map My Mouth. Her aim was to improve access to oral health services throughout the country by providing triage and referral to a dental practitioner for treatment if necessary, diagnosis of dental decay and gum disease, treatment options and estimates and education and advice. About 60% of adults did not have access to dental care, one in three New Zealanders were living with untreated tooth decay and half of all adults showed signs of gum disease, which was linked to conditions such as Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease, she said. Often, the teeth of people visiting a dentist for a checkup were "in good nick" and Map My Mouth made it more productive for dentists as well, as they were able to focus on restorative treatments rather than preventive ones, and it would help address increasing wait times to see a dentist. She was particularly keen to target Māori, Pasifika and those with low incomes and she wanted to make the experience not as clinical and scary as the "murder house days" that many remembered. Ms Welsh, who has a degree in oral health from the University of Otago, started her career at the Southern District Health Board. While in the United Kingdom, she had the extremes of working in the public National Health Service to private practice in the famed Harley St, where famous faces were often spied, and she laughed how she was just "a wee Invercargill girl" in that different world. She also did some dental volunteering in Cambodia. She has taught in the oral health programmes at both Auckland University of Technology and the University of Otago, served on the Health Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal and acted as an examiner for the Dental Council New Zealand. Returning to live in her home- town of Invercargill, she said the southern city was an easy place to live, it was home to nice people and it was also where her family lived. When it came to the establishment of Map My Mouth, Ms Welsh said she had got to a point in her career where she wanted to either challenge herself or do something different. Hence attending Electrify Aotearoa courtesy of free tickets from Coin South, the innovation network for Southland startups and businesses. It had been a few years in the making, but from last week, a regular clinic would be held at the main Invercargill campus of the Southern Institute of Technology. She was also working with Number 10, a health and social service for young people in the city, and waiting to hear back from other organisations. At the moment, the startup is being funded by Ms Welsh herself, who is also working part-time at a private dental practice. She wanted it to be "a bit slow and steady" initially as she was a "one-man show". She was learning a lot about business, and it had been good to challenge her brain in a different way. She hoped it would be eventually franchised and integrated into the Ministry of Health, rolled out nationwide.
Otago Daily Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
South Island transport company appears to owe millions to creditors
Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR A second Invercargill-based transport business, belonging to the same businessman, appears to owe creditors several million dollars. In March, Invercargill-based Dixon Haulage - which worked predominantly for the logging industry - was placed in liquidation for failing to meet its obligations to Inland Revenue, consisting of overdue GST and PAYE together with associated penalties and interest. In their first report, liquidators Kristal Pihama and Luke Norman, of KPMG, said the company's director, Owen Dixon, who is also sole shareholder, advised the company ceased trading in 2024 when his associated company, Dixon Transport, was placed in liquidation, and a number of secured creditors took steps to repossess assets used and secured by both companies. A liquidators report last year showed total liabilities for Dixon Transport were estimated at more than $2.3m. In the Dixon Haulage report, the liquidators said they were waiting for secured creditors who had elected to repossess assets to provide further updates in relation to the marketing and sale of those assets. The book value as at March 31, 2024, of total assets was just over $4m, while total liabilities stood at nearly $3.4m. Mr Dixon is also listed as joint owner and one of two directors of KD Firewood, which was put into liquidation last month owing creditors just over $855,000. - APL
Otago Daily Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Transport business appears to owe millions
Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR A second Invercargill-based transport business, belonging to the same businessman, appears to owe creditors several million dollars. In March, Invercargill-based Dixon Haulage — which worked predominantly for the logging industry — was placed in liquidation for failing to meet its obligations to Inland Revenue, consisting of overdue GST and PAYE together with associated penalties and interest. In their first report, liquidators Kristal Pihama and Luke Norman, of KPMG, said the company's director, Owen Dixon, who is also sole shareholder, advised the company ceased trading in 2024 when his associated company, Dixon Transport, was placed in liquidation, and a number of secured creditors took steps to repossess assets used and secured by both companies. A liquidators' report last year showed total liabilities for Dixon Transport were estimated at more than $2.3million. In the Dixon Haulage report, the liquidators said they were waiting for secured creditors who had elected to repossess assets to provide further updates in relation to the marketing and sale of those assets. The book value as at March 31, 2024, of total assets was just over $4m, while total liabilities stood at nearly $3.4m. Mr Dixon is also listed as joint owner and one of two directors of KD Firewood, which was put into liquidation last month owing creditors just over $855,000. — APL
