Ontario Dentists Helping Children Brush up on Oral Hygiene
Dentists in Ontario are targeting low income families to help them brush up on their oral hygiene habits to prevent oral diseases and reduce the cost of dental care.
Dr Sandra Bennett is one of the dentists helping families in need; she regularly sees children and adults from low income families with extensive dental health problems and most have not seen a dentist for months, even years, when they come to see her. Dr Bennett is a program and standards adviser in dentistry at Ontario Ministry of Health and she is involved with the Children in Need of Treatment scheme, which provides urgent care for children who do not have dental insurance or the means to pay for dental care.
Dr Bennett said that many parents do not realise that their child has dental health problems until they start complaining of toothache or sore gums, by which time it is likely that they have already got cavities and possibly gum disease too.
Dr Bennett said that dentists are working with schools in deprived areas to try and improve oral hygiene and eating habits; many of the children living in these areas do not brush their teeth twice a day and most consume a large amount of sugary foods and drinks, which are very harmful for the teeth.
Dr Irwin Fried, from McGill University, Montreal, is another dentist involved in the mission; he regularly invites bus loads of low-income students for free check-ups as part of the undergraduate dental programme. Dr Fried said that one of the most common problems among children is the bottle; many parents put their children to bed with a bottle full of sweet fluid, which attacks the teeth over the course of the night, leaving them weak and susceptible to decay.
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