Budget cuts in British Columbia will affect thousands of underprivileged kids
The Government in British Columbia has announced budget cuts, which will affect a programme that offers underprivileged children valuable dental care.
The cuts in funding will mean that preventive services for children from low-income families, will be halved; a measure that will have serious implications for their dental health in the future. Preventive services have been hailed as a long-term solution to poor standards of oral health amongst young children and are being promoted throughout community centres, dental practices and schools throughout the USA and Canada. The recent announcement in British Columbia will consequently have a huge effect on children in the area.
Dentists and representatives from organisations that support underprivileged children have reacted angrily to the reported changes in funding, suggesting that thousands of kids will be left without the care they need as a result of the cuts. Previously, the British Columbia Healthy Kids Program offered children from low-income families a comprehensive range of treatments, which included basic services such as fillings and extractions, as well as preventive treatments such as fluoride treatment. When the cut in funding comes into play, the children will only be offered basic services including routine check-ups, fillings and x-rays.
Dentists are worried that they won’t see the children as often as they used to, which will impact upon their dental health; tooth decay and gum disease are prevalent amongst children from poorer communities and symptoms can develop and worsen quickly. Children will now visit their dentist once a year, rather than twice a year, which could mean their dental health deteriorates and decay spreads before they attend another appointment; by the time they see their dentist, they won’t be able to offer the children any help and will have to remove the affected tooth or teeth.
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