Health network spends $1.7 M per year on 'painkillers' for dental service
From cbc.ca
The regional health integration network spends about $1.7 million per year, and about 10,000 people visit a doctor or hospital Emergency Room every year for dental treatment in the Waterloo-Wellington area, despite the fact those adults haven't gotten any treatment to address the problem, according to a provincial group.
All that doctors can do is prescribe a painkiller.
On top of that, adults who aren't able to maintain their oral health may end up with bigger health issues — poor dental care is connected to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and pneumonia, said Jacquie Maund, with the Association of Ontario Health Centres.
So her group is calling for more dental services for low-income adults.
The Ontario government has said it would fund dentist visits for low-income adults by 2025. But, that's not soon enough, said Maund.
She notes records from the Waterloo-Wellington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), show 2,718 people visit a hospital's emergency room for dental problems each year. As well, 8,815 people per year go to see their doctor for help.
"Unfortunately, they can get no treatment because it's not covered by OHIP so often they're just given a painkiller and sent home and many people repeat that visit because they cannot afford to get care," Maund, the policy and government relations lead for the association, said in an interview with CBC News.
Read more here.