Ontario-funded dental programs have helped more than 1,800 residents in Grey-Bruce access free dental care, local media reported Monday.
Grey-Bruce, a region located roughly three hours northwest of Toronto, benefits from provincial programs such as Healthy Smiles Ontario and the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, which cover routine and restorative services for children, youth and seniors from lower-income households.
“With the seniors program, we saw 103 new patients throughout the course of 2024 and had a total of just shy of 900 total appointments for our seniors,” said Jason Weppler, oral health manager at Grey Bruce Public Health, in an interview with CKNX News. “That program began late in 2019, and we have had 886 total clients enrolled in that seniors program.”
In 2024, the Healthy Smiles program also provided urgent dental care to more than 800 children, and preventive services to more than 900 young people, according to the health unit, CKNX News reported.
Last week, Weppler reminded residents that April is Oral Health Month, and that government-funded dental programs are available to eligible children, youth and seniors.
“Grey Bruce Public Health is happy to be able to provide these important oral health services at four locations throughout Grey-Bruce,” he said in a release.
Last year, the health unit reported that the rate of seniors in Grey-Bruce visiting emergency departments for dental concerns in 2022 was more than double the provincial average.
Seniors represent a larger share of the local population: adults aged 65 and older made up 23.6 per cent of Bruce County’s population and 24.1 per cent in Grey County—compared to the provincial average of 16.7 per cent. Among those aged 85 and older, the percentages in Grey-Bruce were similar to Ontario’s.
The news comes after Canada’s new health minister announced that the final phase of the federal Canadian Dental Care Plan will open for applications in May, targeting its largest cohort of low-income Canadians. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also pledged that the program will not be cancelled if his party forms government after the next election.
It’s still unclear how the CDCP is impacting provincial programs. In another Ontarian county, Haliburton, the CDCP has reduced the number of seniors relying on the province’s dental program for low-income older adults, prompting the local health unit to cancel the provincial program this year. Also, Alberta is seeking to improve its provincial dental programs after experience with the CDCP.
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