Dental profession fails to meet needs of disabled Canadians

Kelsall and O’Keefe1 emphasize the poor health implications for seniors caused by their inability to pay for necessary dental treatment, but disabled Canadians are also seriously affected by inequitable access to dental care.

Provincial-government dental plans for the disabled have stagnated for years even as dental fees have increased annually. Some government plans now pay only 50%–60% of typical dental fees. Because only a few dentists will accept such low fees, and because disabled Canadians are more likely than most Canadians to be poor and unable to pay the remainder of a typical fee, disabled adults often have difficulty finding a dentist. As a result, many people with disabilities have lost teeth that could have been saved with easier and earlier access to treatment.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported in 2013 that Canada performed “poorly” relative to the 34 countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in ensuring equitable access to dental care.2

Provincial dental colleges often pass regulations that benefit dentists rather than society, despite laws that require them to regulate in the public interest. These colleges allowed dentists to administer cosmetic botulinum toxin treatments, but they’ve done nothing to ensure equitable access to dentistry.

Dental education also suffers from bad regulation. The Canadian Dental Association, which represents dentists’ interests, also administers faculty accreditation requirements and does not require these faculties to teach students to treat adults with special needs. Similarly, Canadian dental regulators don’t recognize a special-needs specialization, unlike Australia, New Zealand and various European countries.

We don’t have to add dental treatment to medicare to make dentistry more accessible. The provinces can regulate dental fees and access. Germany is an example of a country that successfully combines private dental insurance with government regulation over fees and access.

According to an article from The Canadian Press, medicare is the number one accomplishment that makes us “most proud to be a Canadian.”3 Our governments must work to put equitable dental care at the top of the next such survey.