{"id":16767,"date":"2017-03-08T10:38:29","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T15:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cachc.ca\/?p=16767\/"},"modified":"2021-11-15T09:15:54","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T14:15:54","slug":"call-to-action-for-dental-disease-free-region-of-peel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cachc.ca\/fr\/call-to-action-for-dental-disease-free-region-of-peel\/","title":{"rendered":"A Call to Action for a Dental Disease-Free Region of Peel"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row padding_top=\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00bb padding_bottom=\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00bb][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\u00a0\u00bbA Call to Action for a Dental Disease-Free Region of Peel\u00a0\u00bb font_container=\u00a0\u00bbtag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ use_theme_fonts=\u00a0\u00bbyes\u00a0\u00bb][vc_column_text text_color=\u00a0\u00bb#000000″ responsive_font=\u00a0\u00bbyes\u00a0\u00bb]\"\"<\/p>\n

Waking up to a severe toothache, Alisha ran to the washroom and hurriedly opened the medicine cabinet. She grabbed the bottle of Ibuprofen and took 400mg, silently hoping the pain would subside soon. Leaning back against the door, she muttered to herself, \u201cHow long will this go on? I can\u2019t live on pain meds forever. I have to see a dentist soon\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alisha remembered her last visit to a fee-for-service dentist, 5 years before. Since she didn\u2019t have dental insurance, she was given a bill of $1600; $800 for a root canal and an additional $800 for the crown. The total cost was\u00a0more than the combined cost of her rent, hydro and grocery bills for an entire month. \u201cWhat do I do?\u201d wondered Alisha, a client at<\/span> Bramalea CHC<\/a>, one of five service locations\u00a0provided by<\/span> WellFort Community Health Services<\/a>, a Communiy Health Centre located in Peel Region, Ontario.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alisha\u2019s story is true not only for a significant number of WellFort clients but also for many residents in the Region of Peel. Many barriers exist preventing a large proportion of our clients from attaining their full oral health and overall health potential; a huge one being the high cost of dental care. Based on the\u00a0recent<\/span>\u00a02017 report<\/span>\u00a0Oral Health in Peel: Key Findings about Risk Factors and Oral Health Outcomes<\/a>, 30% of local residents cited cost as a barrier to seeing a dentist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dental care in Canada is operated mainly as a private, fee-for-service system. Public spending on oral health care is only <\/span>6% of total spending on oral health care<\/a>. Canada<\/span>\u00a0ranks very low<\/a> among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries for public spending on oral health care. Though there are patchworks of publicly-funded dental programs\/benefits across different provinces and territories for some vulnerable populations, these are inadequate and are a band aid solution at best. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Evidence shows<\/a> that utilization of upstream approaches to improve population oral health result in\u00a0better long-term oral health outcomes and therefore offer the best solution.\u00a0<\/span>A system where oral health care isn\u2019t a part of the universal health care system minimizes\u00a0the importance of oral health and puts the onus of oral health care on individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to World Health Organization<\/a>, oral health is a fundamental component of overall health and a determinant of quality of life.\u00a0 Studies<\/a> have linked poor oral health with many adverse disease outcomes like<\/span> respiratory diseases<\/a>, heart diseases<\/a>, mental health illnesses<\/a> amongst others. Oral health diseases<\/span>\u00a0disproportionately affect vulnerable groups<\/a> who face barriers accessing oral health care. This includes under-resourced or low-income families, seniors, and indigenous populations among other groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an organization, WellFort is deeply committed to health equity. It is embedded in our vision and mission and is strongly reflected in our organization’s Resolutions for 2017<\/a>. Our commitment to health equity\u00a0has led us to focus significant energy on access to oral health care over the past number of years. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr. Sanjukta Mohanta, dentist at Wellfort Community Health Services’ Health n’ Smiles dental care centre<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2011, WellFort established Health n’ Smiles<\/a>, our CHC’s\u00a0dental clinic which provides increased access to dental care to various groups that currently have access to oral health care through targeted government-funded programs. This includes\u00a0children under the age of 18 living in under-resourced families or in the need of urgent care, and qualified seniors over the age of 65. <\/span><\/p>\n

For those who qualify under current funding from the provincial government, services at Health n’ Smiles include: examinations; x-rays; prevention and oral health education; dental cleanings; sealants; fillings; extractions; partial and full dentures; emergency treatment; and selective root canals. In delivering these services, Health n’ Smiles staff speak English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu, Cantonese, Tagalog, Polish and Arabic – helping further increase accessibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015-16, Health n’ Smiles provided preventative and treatment services to 3,036 individuals. A total of 6,557 client encounters were made by these individuals during the same year.<\/span><\/p>\n

While we are very proud of the services we are able to provide\u00a0through Health n’ Smiles, we also recognize that many more individuals and families are in need, and there remain large gaps in public coverage for necessary oral health care. Therefore, WellFort has also become\u00a0engaged in several oral health advocacy campaigns to challenge the status quo, aiming to improve oral health policy and funding in our region, our province and across Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the fall of 2016, as\u00a0part of the\u00a0Ontario Oral Health Alliance, we gathered over 250 signatures from local residents and, on November 18, 2016<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>we presented a\u00a0petition to our Member of Provincial Parliament, Jagmeet Singh (Bramalea-Gore-Malton) to table in the Ontario Legislature. The petition called on the Ontario government to:<\/span><\/p>\n