Children’s Dental Program challenges.

The Saskatchewan Children’s Dental Health Program, which ran in various forms from 1974 to 1993, offered comprehensive dental care for children in schools, then later, in private dental clinics.

In its last year of provincewide operation, it cost $10.3 million. In 1993, when the province was in a financial crunch, the program was cut back to provide dental coverage for only children in Saskatchewan’s north. Data from the Health Ministry highlights some of the program’s successes and challenges.

In 1974, the year the program began, six-year-olds had an average of 0.94 decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth.

By 1979, the program had expanded to include 13-year-olds, who had an average of 6.25 decayed, filled or missing permanent teeth. Thirteen years later, after the program was well established, the average 13-yearold had just 2.3 decayed, missing or filled teeth.

From 1974 to 1987, teams of government-employed dentists, dental therapists and assistants visited schools at least once a year to provide basic dental services to kids enrolled in the plan. In 1987, the government laid off those school-based workers and instead paid private dentists for children’s visits.

In the last year the CDP operated, about 74 per cent of kids eligible for the program were making trips to the dentist. However, only 41 per cent of eligible First Nations kids used dental services covered by the program and fewer than two-thirds of those kids completed the dental treatments recommended.