Province expands Healthy Smiles Ontario program that provides dental services children of low-income families

Yorkregion.com
May 2, 2016
By Teresa Latchford and Tamara Shepard

The expansion of a provincial dental program will have more York Region youths smiling this year.

Currently, the Healthy Smiles Ontario program enables more than 323,000 children and youths younger than 17 from low-income families across the province to access free preventative, routine, emergency and essential care from licensed dentists and dental hygienists.

Just in York Region, 6,900 children accessed the Healthy Smiles program provided by 745 local dental professionals last year.

Dental services covered include: checkups, cleaning, fillings, X-rays and urgent or emergency oral health issues.

Ontario integrated six publicly funded children’s dental programs into one, making 70,000 more children and youths eligible with a simplified enrolment process, the government stated.

Dorothy Dziunikowski, a registered hygienist and manager of York Region Health’s dental program, welcomes the Healthy Smiles expansion.

“Many dental problems are preventable and dental health is connected to a person’s overall health,” she said.

Not only can untreated oral health problems affect a child’s ability to eat, sleep and concentrate in school, but it can also put them at risk for periodontal disease, respiratory diseases and diabetic complications later in life.

Dental services can be costly and aren’t covered under the provincial OHIP program, which makes it difficult for people in a low-income household to access, according to Dziunikowski.

Children are eligible for the program if they or their family receives government financial assistance, are younger than 17, live in Ontario and come from a household with an income fitting the specific guidelines. A family with one child must earn equal or less than a net income of $22,070 to be eligible for the program and with every additional dependent child, the set net income cap increases by $1,670.

The Ontario Dental Association responded positively to the government’s decision to streamline the six separate publicly funded children’s oral care programs into one, Dr. Victor Kutcher, president of the Ontario Dental Association, said in a prepared statement.

“Eliminating duplication and creating a single program means more children and youth can go to school with a healthy smile,” Kutcher said, adding the association will continue to work with the government “to ensure sustainable and equitable funding for dental programs”.

The government’s expanded Healthy Smiles Ontario program is aimed at enhancing children’s overall health, Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins said.

“We are making it easier for children to get the dental care they need, because having good oral health and a healthy smile can have positive impacts on a child’s overall health, self-esteem and ability to learn,” he said in a prepared statement.

While tooth decay is one of the most common childhood diseases, “it is preventable with proper dental care, and our expanded Healthy Smiles program is helping more kids access these important services”, Hoskins added.

More information about the Healthy Smiles program is available at york.ca/dental or by calling York Region Health Connection at 1-800-361-5653.