Dental coverage a must: study

All Canadians, especially low-income residents, should have dental care as part of their basic health care coverage, a new study by the University of B.C. concludes.

According to a survey of 567 people in four primary health care clinics in B.C. and Ontario that served low-income and aboriginal residents, 46 per cent rated their oral health as fair to poor, with 44 per cent saying they sometimes or often experience pain in their teeth and mouth. “Those numbers are three times higher than the general Canadian population as reported by the Canadian Health Measures Survey,” said UBC professor Annette Browne, who led the study.