Thousands Visit Ontario Emergency Rooms For Dental Treatment
Thousands of Ontarians are visiting Emergency Rooms for dental treatment, despite the fact that ER doctors are not trained to treat dental patients and can usually only prescribe antibiotics and painkillers.
According to the latest figures, 58,000 adults visited Emergency Rooms in the state with dental problems last year, despite the fact that doctors can do little more than prescribe pain medication or antibiotics.
The number of patients seeking dental treatment in hospital is testament to the fact that many are struggling to access affordable dental care. Missing appointments and going without dental checks for long periods of time increases the risk of oral health diseases and eventually the pain becomes intolerable and people have no option but to go to the Emergency Room.
In light of the figures, the Ontario Oral Health Alliance has called for better access to dental care for adults on low incomes and the unemployed. Figures show that there are currently around 5,000 adults competing for appointments at one of Toronto’s public health clinics and some are being forced to wait up to three years for treatment.
Dr Pat Abbey, director of Oral Health at Durham Public Health and president of the Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry, said that the major problem is that patients who go to the ER cannot get the treatment they need because doctors are not trained to carry out dental procedures and can only provide temporary remedies to ease pain.
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