Most people in Ontario have dental services covered through a private insurance program. But an estimated two to three million people in our province don’t visit a dentist because they don’t have insurance and can’t afford the cost to see one.
To help people spread the word on social media about this gap in our healthcare system, the Ontario Oral Health Alliance produced a whiteboard video (below) that spotlights the connection between chronic disease and poor oral health care, as well as the social effects of not having access to dental care.
The video also gives a good overview of the limited public oral health programs in the province (coverage for low income children 17 and under, and a patchwork of services for those on social assistance). And it also explains that those people who slip through the cracks often end up in emergency departments at hospitals, or at a doctor's office, neither of which is equipped to offer treatment for dental problems, costing Ontario's health system millions of dollars every year for ineffective care.
While the video is a great overview to introduce someone to the topic and the efforts to advocate for public oral health programs in Ontario for low-income adults and seniors, if you want to delve much deeper into the issue and its background materials, don't miss our complete oral health resource section.
The video was produced for the Ontario Oral Health Alliance by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.