Dental Care In Canada

Oral health has a direct impact on the general health, hence, it is important that all Canadians have adequate access to dental care services. While many Canadians have reported to having good oral health, there is a significant proportion of the population that experience difficulty accessing dental care. Dental care is delivered through the private sector and financed almost completely through a combination of employment-based insurance (53%) and out-of-pocket payments (43%). Only a small amount of dental care (approximately 5%) is supported by Government for groups deemed in social need. Socio-economic factors determine dental care utilization and are associated with poorer dental health outcomes. Lower income families and those without dental insurance are more likely not to seek dental than higher income Canadians.
Cost is cited as a major reason many Canadians delay or avoid dental care services. These barriers to accessing dental care include: low income and lack of insurance, reduced Government funding and shortage of dental care professionals.

In addition to the health impacts, production is impacted as, it is estimated that there’s an annual loss of 2.26 million school-days and 4.15 million working days due to dental visits or dental sick days in Canada. Currently, each province provides some form of dental assistance, however, the programs target children, seniors, Aboriginal peoples and refugees. These programs do not adequately satisfy the needs of those vulnerable populations, and therefore there is the demand for the development of policies which addresses the inequities in dental care. Developing policies to address inaccessibly to dental care could potentially results reduction in health care costs, increase production, and improving the health status of the