THUNDER BAY — Two dentists from Thunder Bay have joined a delegation of dozens from across Ontario who headed to Queen's Park to lobby Wednesday for more support for public dental-care services.
One of their goals is to improve access to the Healthy Smiles Ontario program.
The headline over a news release announcing the trip said the dentists will "try fixing the funding gap in public dental programs."
According to the Ontario Dental Association, 540,000 children and youth qualify for treatment under HSO, but less than half that number are currently receiving care.
Thunder Bay dentist Dr. Don Young says he's participating because he feels it's important for children to get access to the dental care they require.
"I could go on and on and on about that. There are a lot of families in need. It's definitely an issue that's close to my heart," Young said in an interview with Tbnewswatch.
He added that many children in Thunder Bay are suffering because of untreated dental problems.
"Our goal is to not have a child go to bed in pain. There is a lot of dental decay in the community," Young said.
The ODA states that tooth decay is the second most common reason that children miss school.
"Having properly funded public dental care programs just makes sense. In the case of Healthy Smiles Ontario, I'll be asking [Health] Minister Elliott to invest in HSO to prevent needless pain and negative impacts on kids' health and social lives as they grow up," association president Dr. David Stevenson said.
The ODA maintains that at least $38 million a year is "wasted" as Ontarians resort to emergency room visits for dental issues which usually result in patients getting pain killers and antibiotics but no long-term solution to the problem.
Young said patients often make repeat visits to the ER because of problems with their teeth.
Dentists are more than willing, he said, to donate their time and expertise to help those in need, but the Healthy Smiles program funding currently does not cover all their overhead costs such as staffing and materials.
"We just want to work with the government. We have the knowledge, we have the expertise and the desire to work to ensure these programs are sustainable."
